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Border Patrol agent dies following medical emergency during marine training

Customs and Border Protection stated that Sean M. McDonough, 48, was participating in water training with the marine unit when he suffered a medical episode

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U.S. Customs and Border Protection

By Jonathon Wheeler
Watertown Daily Times, N.Y.

ALEXANDRIA BAY — A U.S. Border Patrol agent died in the line of duty while participating in water training Friday in Alexandria Bay.

A line of duty announcement from Customs and Border Protection states that Sean M. McDonough, 48, was participating in water training with the marine unit and started to feel chest pain before going into cardiac arrest. Medical teams then attempted CPR on McDonough.

McDonough was taken to a hospital, but on Friday, he “succumbed to a medical emergency,” CBP said in a statement.

In a social media post on X, formerly Twitter, CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott said that McDonough began his career in 2007, serving most recently at the Wellesley Island Border Patrol Station. He had also served in the Army, Army National Guard and as a military police officer.

“He is a true hero who selflessly served to protect America,” the post reads.

CBP says more information will be provided when it becomes available.

McDonough lived in Depauville, according to his obituary. He and his wife, Samantha, have two daughters.

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