• If you are having problems logging in please use the Contact Us in the lower right hand corner of the forum page for assistance.

Rob: Gunned down on the Mexican border

Texan

Well-known member
For those of you who only visit PB, this is a continuation of an article that I posted in Ranch Talk. I wanted to finish it in here so that people could discuss the political aspect of it without causing trouble in Ranch Talk. Read the first part of it here:

http://ranchers.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=464007#464007

===========================

robandblue_edited.jpg

A SOLID TEAM, Rob Krentz and his partner, Blue, are pictured doing fence work
on the Krentz family ranch in Arizona. The two were gunned down March 28 when
the rancher attempted to help what he thought was an illegal alien in distress.



Slain Arizona Rancher Recalled By
All Who Knew Him As Good Man

By Jim Olson

(Editor’s note: The following article puts a human face on the man whose brutal murder appears finally to have awakened a broader segment of the public to the violence and danger of this country’s porous southern border. It is beyond shameful that it has taken such an event.)


(continued)...The immigration vs. secure border issue has gotten more press lately than a political love scandal. It seems everybody has an opinion on the subject, and most are quite vocal. But you know what they say about opinions ...

While this subject is not new by any stretch of the imagination, if you could point to one thing that has brought it to the forefront of political issues lately, it would have to be the murder of a southern Arizona rancher on his own property. On March 28, Rob Krentz became the poster child for the secure border issue. Unfortunately, it cost him his life.

At the time of this writing, Rob is without a doubt the most widely known rancher in America, maybe the world. Just ask anyone, anywhere, to name an American rancher today and they will more than likely say Rob Krentz, or at least, “You know … that guy that got killed down along the border.”

As I read with interest all of the stories concerning the border and immigration, I started to wonder, “Just who was Rob Krentz?” I mean the person Rob Krentz, not the image or martyr that he has become for the secure border issue. I know several of the Krentz Ranch neighbors, and when one of them approached me about doing a story on the subject, I readily agreed on the condition that it was with the Krentz family blessing and that it would be a story on the man himself, not the political issues. I am honored that they agreed, because now I feel as if I know who Rob Krentz really was. I only wish that I could have met him prior to March 28.

While interviewing several family members and neighbors of Rob’s, I got a glowing report of a great man. Friend, family man, conservationist, good rancher and kind-hearted were all thrown about. Of course they wouldn’t have bad things to tell me about one of their own, I thought, but you know what? I read articles and contacted several people who are on the other side of the political issue, if you will, and couldn’t find one single person who had anything bad to say about Rob.

Even the most adamant immigrant rights people had nothing bad to say about the person Rob Krentz himself. All they could talk about was being against the reform issue. Amazing! Even the so-called enemy could not run down Rob’s character. Here is why:

Rob Krentz was a man of values. From the time he was just a little boy, Rob’s dad Bob grilled into him the importance of doing things the right way. Throughout his life, Rob worked extra hard on doing just that. He wouldn’t cut corners when it might have been easy to do so — not if it weren’t the right thing to do. Little things that some people don’t think twice about, like moving cattle without the proper inspection papers or running red (illegal) diesel in his pickup truck were out of the question as far as Rob was concerned. You never cheat, not even one little bit, was what Rob lived by, and he inspired friends and family in the same way.

To understand Rob, you need to know more about his family history. The Krentz family emigrated (legally) from Alsace-Lorraine, once a little country between Germany and France and now part of France, around the turn of the last century. They were butchers by trade and first went to St. Louis. Family lore says that after government regulations became too cumbersome there (even back then), the Krentz family headed west.

Upon leaving St. Louis, they settled in Winslow, Ariz., about 1902, operating a butcher shop and a ranch. While operating the Chevelon Creek Ranch south of Winslow, the family recorded one of the earliest brands in the state of Arizona, the 111 bar brand, which is owned by the Babbitt family today.

In 1907 the family sought out new ventures in the border town of Douglas, which was booming at the time. The Krentz’s bought the historic Tovrea Meat Market in Douglas and also the Spear E Ranch at the foot of the Chiricahua mountains. In about 1918, the meat market was sold and they concentrated their efforts solely on ranching from then on.

It took several years, but eventually the Krentz family was able to buy up the little homesteads surrounding them when they became available. Back then just about everyone in that country had a section or two of land that had been homesteaded. As people went broke or moved away, the Krentz family was in a position to buy out the smaller outfits and eventually put together one big ranch. Most of their pastures had been individual homesteads at some time, and are named after the original homestead. Each has its own history as well.

In media reports that circulate these days, the Krentz ranch is said to be 35,000 acres. I can tell you that isn’t quite right, but it is impolite to ask a person the size of his or her spread. It’s kind of like asking people how much money they have in the bank. Only the IRS and a rancher’s banker are privy to that information in the eyes of most ranchers, including the Krentzes.

The family were pioneers. They were the kind of people who settled and developed this country and made it safe for others to follow. They are the kind of family that should be considered the backbone of America. Surviving bad drouths, cyclical markets, government regulations, and a myriad of other issues made them into the strong ranching family that we have today. The Krentz Ranch has been there since before Arizona was a state. It has been there since long before there was ever a United States Forest Service dictating rules to them. This is the background and legacy that Rob was born into, a salt of the earth kind of old-time ranching family.

When asked about some of Rob’s other qualities, over and over again I am told about his willingness to help out. Rob’s wife, Sue, says, “Most of the time when Rob left the house he would say, ‘I am going to help (fill in the blank).’” Rob’s neighbors all have great stories to tell about Rob going out of his way to help them out of a jam. Not only would he help a neighbor, but Rob was kind to strangers as well, including the illegal immigrants who inundated his property.

Rob was known to help out a thirsty, starving or wounded immigrant on more than one occasion. That may have been what got him killed. Rob’s last radio transmission to his brother Phil was something like: “Going to help an illegal in distress.” Rob and his dog, Blue, were found shot several hours later.

Rob’s friends and family could not stress strongly enough that he loved to help people. “A friend in need is a friend in deed” was a motto of Rob’s. Not only did he help out friends and strangers in and around the ranching country of southeastern Arizona, but Rob was very involved in many other projects as well.

Rob was very active in the cattle growers’ associations at the local and state levels. He worked with the Malpai Borderlands group, trying to preserve ranching and wildlife habitat for future generations. He testified numerous times to Congressional leaders about the issues facing the international border and always seemed to find the time to continue helping out where he could.

The Krentz family were well known as good stewards of the lands that they control. They were honored for practices such as their long gravity flow water pipeline that served cattle and wildlife across their large ranch. Rob and his family took such good care of their land that they were used as examples of range stewardship on numerous occasions, and to top it off, the Krentz ranch was inducted into the Arizona Farming and Ranching Hall of Fame in its inaugural year, 2008.

Rob was a favorite around brandings on the nearby ranches. He was nicknamed “Crunch,” and everybody laughs as they recall the “Krentz Crunch” that Rob used on waspy calves. Rob was a large man physically, and after watching younger or smaller cowhands get mucked out by an unruly yearling, Rob would come running and put the Krentz Crunch on the offending animal. The move has been described as a cross between tackle football and wrestling.

Rob loved to hunt, fish, and do just about anything outdoors. He was a good roper, rancher, horseman, cowman, husband and father. Everybody I talked to had nothing but praise for Rob. He was easy to get along with. He was always positive. He was a genuine kind of person. Those are just some of the comments.

Rob loved life and would constantly tell his family, “We are so very blessed. We are blessed to live in this beautiful place that we live in. We are blessed to get to live the lifestyle that we want to and do what we want to every day.” As one of Rob’s friends put it, “Rob was one of the good guys, he was a good ole boy.”



http://www.livestockweekly.com/papers/10/05/13/whl13krentz.asp
 

Texan

Well-known member
Here's some more details for those of you who missed the story when it first came out.

========================

Arizona Rancher Found Murdered
On Own Land Near Mexican Border

By John Bradshaw

DOUGLAS, Ariz. — The Arizona border turned deadly March 27 when rancher Robert Krentz was shot and killed while checking his cattle. His killer is believed to be either a drug smuggler or an illegal alien.

Krentz was working alone on his 35,000-acre ranch that morning between Douglas and Apache on his Polaris Ranger. Between 10 and 10:30 Krentz made contact with his brother, Phil, who was also working on the ranch that morning. The transmission over the handheld radio was broken, and all that could be heard was “illegal alien” and “hurt.”

The two men were set to meet at noon, and when Krentz did not show up, his brother continued his attempts to reach him over the radio. When no contact was made, family and friends began a search. At 6:20 that evening they contacted the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office, and shortly before midnight a helicopter search team found Krentz dead in his ATV.

Krentz was found near a windmill, in his Polaris, which was still running. He had been shot twice at close range. His Catahoula dog had been shot once, fatally wounded but alive at the time, and was still in the back of the Polaris.

Investigators determined through tracks that the initial incident took place approximately 1000 feet from where Krentz was found. Tracks indicated that he left that scene at a high rate of speed, either immediately before or after he was shot.

Krentz had two guns in the ATV with him, a scoped .223 rifle and a .22 pistol. The pistol was unfired, and the rifle had an empty in the chamber, which was the way Krentz carried it. Both guns were still in their scabbards.

Tracks showed that one subject, other than Krentz, had been at the scene of the shooting. The tracks of that one man, who was on foot, were followed by sheriff’s deputies, Border Patrol trackers and Department of Corrections dog chase teams. The tracks led south 20 miles to the Mexican border, where the trackers were forced to end their chase.

The Cochise County Sheriff’s Office has not released a suspected motive, or suspect information related to gender or nationality.

“There was no evidentiary information located at the scene to indicate that this was drug-related,” said Carol Capas, the public information officer for the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office.

Capas also said that during a press conference held by the sheriff’s office, a Border Patrol spokesperson said historically, when one set of tracks heads south it is usually just someone going home to Mexico. A group of people traveling south is indicative of drug mules headed back after dropping off their load.

The sheriff’s office is also not making any speculation regarding the last transmission from Krentz, when he said “illegal alien” and “hurt.” They are working with Mexican officials to locate the suspect, though.

Rob Krentz’ brother-in-law, Louis Pope, said the investigation is far from over. Things are happening in Mexico right now, but Pope wouldn’t elaborate.

He did say all the attention this shooting brought has disrupted the normal activities of the drug cartel in the area, and there is some concern that the cartel may just shoot someone, throw him over the fence and say he’s the shooter.

According to Pope, finding Krentz was made difficult by the rough terrain. The ranch is in the Chiricahua Mountains, and Krentz’ Polaris came to a stop off the road, in a tobosa flat, in the bottom of a depression where it couldn’t be easily spotted.

Tracking the vehicle was difficult because they had driven 300 head of cattle through the area the day before, with Krentz riding in his ATV. The tracks left from that drive, as well as high winds blowing out much of the sign, made tracking tough.

Krentz was confined to his ATV because he had major back surgery last July and a hip replacement in January and could not walk without a cane. Even so, he was still checking cattle and waters in his Polaris. Water tanks there must be checked every day, because every night something is torn up by Mexicans passing through.

Pope said it should have been someone else who was shot, because Krentz was constantly lecturing others about the dangers of approaching any of the people traveling across the ranch. Even so, Krentz was known to assist anyone who was hurt or in need.

“Rob would help anybody. Rob was a humanitarian,” Pope said. “If the guy was hurt, or Rob thought he was hurt, he might have gone up to him.”

The shooter apparently wasn’t hurt too terribly bad, though, since he walked 20 miles after murdering Krentz.

There is the possibility the shooting was an act of retaliation. A couple of days before the incident, in the same area, Phil Krentz was driving the fenceline and came upon a group of smugglers carrying a load of dope. He drove on for a couple of miles, then hid, watched them with binoculars and called the Border Patrol.

The Border Patrol had trouble finding the drug mules, but Phil drove down and showed them where the men were. Eight men were arrested and more than 200 pounds of dope was seized.

There is so much traffic in the area that there is no guessing who committed the murder or why it happened, though. Both illegals and smugglers travel through every day.

“As we talk, the Border Patrol is on two groups within three miles of my house,” Pope said. “One group of eight and another of 20, right now, as we talk.”

Since 2003, 16,000 pounds of dope has been seized within one mile of Pope’s house. He said every time he and his wife leave the house, people come to it.

The smugglers haul their loads through the area and up to I-10 and the town of Portal. Then they walk back to Mexico. As they head back south, they break into houses, mainly for food, but also for guns and other valuables.

In the past month alone, Pope said approximately 80 percent of the houses in the area have been burglarized, vandalized or had home invasions. His house has been robbed three times in the last couple of years, and his neighbor has been robbed 17 times in the last three years.

“It’s a mess. It’s just totally a mess,” Pope said.

A month or so ago, an elderly couple who lives not far from Pope was the victim of a home invasion by two men carrying machetes. The men duct taped the couple to chairs, stole their money, credit cards and their car.

“It’s really changing here. These are thugs anymore,” Pope said. “It’s just terrible.”

The Mexicans traveling through are also bad to start range and forest fires. Some of the fires are started accidentally from cooking fires; others are intentionally set to bring in law enforcement when someone is hurt.

“We had one case where a lady was having a baby. They set a fire, the Border Patrol came in and the baby was born an American citizen,” said Pope.

Since Rob Krentz’ death, the dire situation along the border has received much attention, attention it never got before. The family hopes that something good will come from all of this. They hope perhaps the politicians making the speeches about the border will do something to secure it and bring peace to those living near it.

Pope believes the border itself needs to be sealed and that bringing in soldiers is the only way to do it.

“When they get in these mountains here, you’re not going to catch them. These mountains go from about 4000 feet in the valleys to almost 10,000 feet. They couldn’t catch Geronimo here, or Cochise, and they’re not going to catch these Mexicans, either.”

The Arizona Cattle Growers’ Association began a reward that has grown to $15,000 for information that leads to the arrest and conviction in the death of Rob Krentz, and the federal government put up $25,000.

Rob Krentz is survived by his wife, Sue, and their three children, son Andrew and wife Amanda, son Frank, and daughter Kyle and husband Brandon Gutierrez, and grandchildren Robert and Madyson Gutierrez.



http://www.livestockweekly.com/papers/10/04/08/whl8bradshawmurder.asp
 

MsSage

Well-known member
OK I was laughing and just "had to click" then went to tears and anger in less than a breath.
Sorry I could not read the rest of what you posted I am sure it was good.
My take on this situation is very different than most ......NM is hug a thug state.
 

Big Muddy rancher

Well-known member
Trent Loos has been talking about this. The Governor of AZ is on Greta right now.

It is a terrible shame to lose a life the way he did but I hope he becomes a martyr for the cause to get this problem cleaned up. :?
 

Steve

Well-known member
I had read a few life stories about Rob, seemed like a real decent fair man.

decenter then most.. fairer then most... after reading the link, and another story on a fine man.. one that brought back memories, it made him seem like someone I knew, and wasn't just a stranger gunned down for no good reason.. even though I never met him ever..

I think it is sad that his family friends and our nation must lose a great man before our federal Leadership will act.. oh they didn't,..

Thank GOD for leadership in Arizona!
 

Steve

Well-known member
Faster horses said:
The main reason we have a government is to keep us safe.
What a joke.

we have guns to keep ourselves safe... we have laws the government employees should enforce that will make our country safer...
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Hypocrit- PF-Hoppy-- time for you to go back thru the archives and find all the posts when I was saying the same thing....Back when GW was sitting with his rich buddy Vincente Fox at his Mexican mansion talking more open border policy-- overriding two votes of Congress to allow Mexican truckers free run in the US- and then crawling in bed with McSame and Kennedy to introduce an AMNESTY bill .... :wink: :lol: :lol:
 

hypocritexposer

Well-known member
Oldtimer said:
Hypocrit- PF-Hoppy-- time for you to go back thru the archives and find all the posts when I was saying the same thing....Back when GW was sitting with his rich buddy Vincente Fox at his Mexican mansion talking more open border policy-- overriding two votes of Congress to allow Mexican truckers free run in the US- and then crawling in bed with McSame and Kennedy to introduce an AMNESTY bill .... :wink: :lol: :lol:

The budget for border security has been cut under obama, and the Dems have been responsible for the budget since 2007.
 

Faster horses

Well-known member
Jim Olsen wrote a fine tribute to a fine man.
The whole thing is a shame; our government failed us.
This man was killed under Obama's watch. He's had
plenty of time to do something and he has done
NOTHING.

It's time to STOP BLAMING BUSH FOR OBAMA'S FAILURES! :x
 

Steve

Well-known member
Oldtimer said:
Hypocrit- PF-Hoppy-- time for you to go back thru the archives and find all the posts when I was saying the same thing....Back when GW was sitting with his rich buddy Vincente Fox at his Mexican mansion talking more open border policy-- overriding two votes of Congress to allow Mexican truckers free run in the US- and then crawling in bed with McSame and Kennedy to introduce an AMNESTY bill .... :wink: :lol: :lol:


we know. we hear ya... it ain't right.. Bush enforcing the Clinton signed Nafta.. but we got MCSAME W Obama in the whitehouse again.. ain't nothing gettin better ... same ol policy, same ol failure.. same hugging bowing to Mexican presidents..

so I support the PEOPLE of AZ as they are dealing with the problem... and if Az wants to back out of Nafta ... I support that as well,,
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Faster horses said:
Jim Olsen wrote a fine tributeto a fine man. The whole thing is a shame; our government failed us. This man was killed under Obama's watch. He's had plenty of timeto do something and he has done NOTHING. It's timeto STOP BLAMING BUSH FOR OBAMA'S FAILURES! :x

So FH- then you finally agree that the Bush Bust economic disaster was GW's :???: Not Clintons, not anyone elses, since GW had plenty of time to do something and didn't? It definitely happened on his watch ....
 

hypocritexposer

Well-known member
Oldtimer said:
Faster horses said:
Jim Olsen wrote a fine tributeto a fine man. The whole thing is a shame; our government failed us. This man was killed under Obama's watch. He's had plenty of timeto do something and he has done NOTHING. It's timeto STOP BLAMING BUSH FOR OBAMA'S FAILURES! :x

So FH- then you finally agree that the Bush Bust economic disaster was GW's :???: Not Clintons, not anyone elses, since GW had plenty of time to do something and didn't? It definitely happened on his watch ....

It happened during Bush's presidency, but that does not change the fact that their is a separation of powers.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
hypocritexposer said:
Oldtimer said:
Faster horses said:
Jim Olsen wrote a fine tributeto a fine man. The whole thing is a shame; our government failed us. This man was killed under Obama's watch. He's had plenty of timeto do something and he has done NOTHING. It's timeto STOP BLAMING BUSH FOR OBAMA'S FAILURES! :x
So FH- then you finally agree that the Bush Bust economic disaster was GW's :???: Not Clintons, not anyone elses, since GW had plenty of timeto do something and didn't? It definitely happened on his watch ....
It happened during Bush's presidency, but that does not change the fact that their is a separation of powers.

You mean like the 12 of the 14 years leading up to it with Republicans controlling both houses of congress :wink: :lol:
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Faster horses said:
Forget it. :x

Yep-- I try to too-- but after I spent 4 years on here predicting what GW was doing to the economy- and the Depression he was leading us into- its kind of hard to... :( :wink:
 

hypocritexposer

Well-known member
Oldtimer said:
hypocritexposer said:
Oldtimer said:
So FH- then you finally agree that the Bush Bust economic disaster was GW's :???: Not Clintons, not anyone elses, since GW had plenty of timeto do something and didn't? It definitely happened on his watch ....
It happened during Bush's presidency, but that does not change the fact that their is a separation of powers.

You mean like the 12 of the 14 years leading up to it with Republicans controlling both houses of congress :wink: :lol:

Yep, it sure was a good thing they moved left as you were calling for, eh?
 

Steve

Well-known member
Oldtimer said:
Yep-- I try to too-- but after I spent 4 years on here predicting what GW was doing to the economy- and the Depression he was leading us into- its kind of hard to... :( :wink:

you must have forgotten the thread was about a fine man and rancher who was gunned down as well..
robandblue_edited.jpg


Bush didn't kill him.. an Illegal Mexican thug killed him..

do we argue about Bush.. or Illegals?



I wouldn't disrespect this man by arguing about bush..
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Steve said:
Oldtimer said:
Yep-- I tryto too-- but after I spent 4 years on here predicting what GW was doingto the economy- and the Depression he was leading us into- its kind of hardto... :( :wink:
you must have forgotten the thread was about a fine man and rancher who was gunned down as well..
robandblue_edited.jpg
Bush didn't kill him.. an Illegal Mexican thug killed him.. do we argue about Bush.. or Illegals? I wouldn't disrespect this man by arguing about bush..
Steve Rancher Joined: 13 Feb 2005 Posts: 5609 Location: Wildwood New Jersey Posted: Thu May 20, 2010 8:55 pm Post subject: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Faster horses wrote: The main reason we have a government isto keep us safe. What a joke. we have gunsto keep ourselves safe... we have laws the government employees should enforce that will make our country safer...

Yep-- all my fault-- but You blamed government- I agreed showing its been going on for a long time- FH blamed it all on Obama-- which I disagree with because it goes back far before him- and GW had 8 years to do something but didn't...

But I forgot- Republican cultists don't believe a person with an (R) by their name can be responsible for anything bad that happens-- but will take credit if anything good does....

We need some "old" Dems back:
The Buck Stops Here
Harry S. Truman
 
Top