NEAR PORTAL - The hour-glass-shaped San Bernardino and San Simon valleys where rancher Robert Krentz was killed a week ago are nestled between the snow-capped Chiricahua Mountains to the west and the Peloncillo Mountains to the east.
It's a sparsely populated area on the eastern edge of Arizona along a 70-mile stretch from the U.S.-Mexico border to Interstate 10. There are a mix of longtime ranching families like the Krentzes, newer "40-acre ranchers," retirees and others who came for open space and solitude.
The smuggling of people and drugs across their backyards is something residents here have dealt with for decades. But, they say the killing of Krentz cements a disturbing evolution that began a few years ago - illegal border activity has gone from irritating to deadly dangerous.
"I've never felt more unsafe in my whole life," said Bill McDonald, a fifth-generation rancher who's property shares a fence with the 35,000-acre Krentz ranch. "I wonder if I want my kids and grandkids to live here. I've never had that feeling."
Chiricahua neighbors fearful as never before
It's a sparsely populated area on the eastern edge of Arizona along a 70-mile stretch from the U.S.-Mexico border to Interstate 10. There are a mix of longtime ranching families like the Krentzes, newer "40-acre ranchers," retirees and others who came for open space and solitude.
The smuggling of people and drugs across their backyards is something residents here have dealt with for decades. But, they say the killing of Krentz cements a disturbing evolution that began a few years ago - illegal border activity has gone from irritating to deadly dangerous.
"I've never felt more unsafe in my whole life," said Bill McDonald, a fifth-generation rancher who's property shares a fence with the 35,000-acre Krentz ranch. "I wonder if I want my kids and grandkids to live here. I've never had that feeling."
Chiricahua neighbors fearful as never before
