Man facing extradition after family of migrants froze to death at Canada-U.S. border

A border marker is shown just outside of Emerson, Man. on Thursday, January 20, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods

Another man has been arrested in connection with a human smuggling operation that saw a migrant family freeze to death on the Canada-U.S. border near Emerson, Man.

Fenil Patel was arrested Sept. 5 on an extradition request from the United States, the Justice Department in Ottawa said Tuesday. The 37-year-old faces a hearing this week in Ontario Superior Court.

The family -- Jagdish Patel, 39; his wife Vaishaliben Patel, 37; their 11-year-old daughter, Vihangi; and their three-year-old son, Dharmik -- died while trying to walk across the border in January 2022 in a frigid blizzard on the open prairie. Patel is a common name in India.

The family had been given jeans and light jackets meant for spring weather and were among several other migrants from India who were dropped off near the Canada-U.S. border in Manitoba. They were told to walk until they could be picked up by a vehicle in the U.S.

Two men in the U.S. — Harshkumar Patel, who is not related to the family, and Steve Shand — were convicted last year for being part of the smuggling effort south of the border.

Their trial in Minnesota was told they were part of a smuggling ring that saw people from India brought to Canada on student visas, then driven to areas near the U.S. border and told to walk across. The men were convicted in relation to several crossings in the winter of 2021-22.

Harshkumar Patel was found to have organized the logistics while Shand was paid to pick up migrants on the U.S. side in rented vehicles. Patel was sentenced earlier this year to 10 years in prison while Shand was given 6 1/2 years. Both men have filed appeals.

At the trial, two witnesses described Fenil Patel as an organizer in Canada.

Manuel Jimenez, a special agent with Homeland Security, testified car rental records show Fenil Patel rented a vehicle in Toronto on Jan. 17, 2022, drove it to Winnipeg, and dropped it off the same day the family who died was taken to the border.

Another witness, a convicted human smuggler named Rajinder Singh, testified the family called Fenil Patel while they were trying to walk across and told him it was too cold to continue.

Singh testified Fenil Patel told the family to turn around and someone would pick them up, but it was a lie because no one was there to do so.

Their bodies were found hours later, long after daybreak, a few metres north of the border. The boy was still in his father’s arms. The mother was found up against a chain-link fence near an unmanned natural gas facility. Prosecutors said it appears she left the others to try to find help at the only building in sight.

The other migrants made it to Shand’s van. One required hospitalization for hypothermia.

At the time of the trial, RCMP said they had not made any arrests in the case in Canada and their investigation was ongoing. They didn’t return requests for comment Tuesday. The U.S. Justice Department declined to comment.

An affidavit filed by a constable with the Toronto police fugitive squad said apprehending Fenil Patel, a citizen of India living in Ontario, would prevent him from leaving the country.

“If Patel were to flee to India, the U.S. would have limited ability to arrest and extradite him,” the affidavit said.

Court documents show Patel faces charges in the U.S., including conspiring to bring aliens into the country resulting in death.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2025.

Steve Lambert, The Canadian Press