HIDALGO – Evidence found near a Rio Grande Valley city show the number of people crossing the border illegally hasn’t ceased.

The city of Hidalgo sits nearly a mile away from the Rio Grande separated by a wall that’s meant to serve as a deterrence or barricade.

A CHANNEL 5 NEWS crew found a 12-foot wooden ladder in the area.

Nancy Perett works at a food stand located at the entrance of the Old Hidalgo Pumphouse Museum and World Birding Center. She said she’s never taken a walk through the nature reserve beyond the wall.

Perett said she’s also learned to spot people that don’t belong. She’s seen people who crossed the border pass through and disappear in the distance.

“Kinda the rush that they have. Cause normally people that come here is because they… either take pictures or take walk,” she said.

But there is also evidence of people who continue to pass through the area in spite of a fence.

Perett said she couldn’t believe what she saw when we showed her images of the wooden ladder we spotted.

“I’ve never seen that. Never seen nobody with a ladder,” she said.

CHANNEL 5 NEWS reached out to U.S. Border Patrol to see what was being done. They responded with the following statement, which reads in part:

“Border Patrol personnel in unmarked vehicles will routinely pick up ladders and other discarded items utilized by persons attempting to illegally enter the United States. The discarded items, to include ladders, are transported by agents conducting patrol duties to locations near the river levee that are designated for their collection.”

Perett said she hasn’t seen suspicious activity in the area lately. She said the proximity of the popular trail is not of concern as long Border Patrol maintains their presence.