AUSTIN – It is with great sadness, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) announces the death of DPS Special Agent Anthony Salas.

On Friday, Jan. 21, 2022, around 7:30 p.m., Special Agent Salas was conducting tactical operations in Maverick County as part of a DPS Special Operations Group working jointly with the US Border Patrol BORTAC when he was involved in a tragic accident near Eagle Pass. Local EMS personnel transported him to Fort Duncan Regional Medical Center and later he was airlifted to University Hospital in San Antonio. Special Agent Salas passed away just after 11 a.m. on Jan. 22, 2022, with his family by his side.

Special Agent Anthony Salas, 37, joined the department in 2013 and was stationed in El Paso. He served as a Trooper with the Texas Highway Patrol before promoting to a Special Agent in the department’s Criminal Investigations Division. Special Agent Salas was a member of the DPS West Texas Special Response Team, and he served in the United States Marine Corps before joining the department.

Photo provided by Texas DPS

Governor Abbott released a statement on Salas’s death.

“I am saddened to hear that DPS Special Agent Anthony Salas was killed in a horrific vehicle accident in the line of duty in Eagle Pass,” he said. “This tragedy is a somber reminder of the selfless sacrifices our law enforcement make as they work to keep us safe. I ask Texans to join Cecilia and me in praying for Agent Salas’ family as they grieve this unimaginable loss.”