Individual detained for lethal transportation of immigrants causing death of four-member Romanian family and sibling

An individual who is a citizen of both the United States and Canada was taken into custody last month for his purported involvement in an incident to illegally transport a Romanian family of four into the United States, resulting in their tragic deaths, including two young children.

The Justice Department reported that Timothy Oakes, a 34-year-old resident of the Akwesasne Mohawk Indian Reservation (AMIR) in Canada, was apprehended on June 15 while attempting to cross into the U.S. through the Massena, New York, port of entry.

Charges brought against him include collaborating with others in smuggling aliens, four charges of financially motivated alien smuggling, and four charges of alien smuggling that led to fatalities. Oakes made an appearance in a federal court and was remanded into custody following a hearing on Tuesday.

A cruise boat approaches the Thousand Islands International Bridge on the St. Lawrence River connecting New York with Ontario, Canada in the middle of the 1000 Islands region. (Getty Images)

He earned $1,000 per person, authorities said. In March 2023, Oakes housed a Romanian family of four, together with other aliens, for about 24 hours before allegedly taking them on his boat in an attempt to illegally bring them into the U.S.  

Oakes, his brother Casey, and the Romanian family were on the vessel when it capsized, killing the family, including two children under the age of 3, and his brother. 

“Two toddler-aged children and their parents were the tragic victims of an alien smuggling attempt gone horribly wrong,” said Chief Patrol Agent Robert Garcia of the U.S. Border Patrol’s Swanton Sector. “Their deaths were a direct result of callous smugglers who exploited the vulnerable.”

Terrance, Montour, and Sharrow admitted in their plea agreements that they were employed to illegally transport the Romanian family — a mother, father, 1-year-old boy, and 2-year-old girl — from Canada into New York. Montour admitted that he was aware of the dangerous weather conditions on the day of the smuggling attempt — high winds, freezing temperatures, and limited visibility, the Justice Department said.