There is heartache and pain that stretches from the Rio Grande to Rensselaer County.

Three soldiers onboard a military helicopter that crashed Friday in Texas are from the Capital Region.

Two of them died, and the third remains in serious condition.

The chopper went down last Friday afternoon while flying a mission in support of U.S. Customs and Border Protection along the U.S.-Mexico border. It was a UH-72 Lakota light utility helicopter, with four people on board. Three of them are from the Capital Region.

Chief Warrant Officer Casey Frankoski, 28, a graduate of Columbia High School, was killed in the crash.

She is also the daughter of retired Rensselaer Police Chief James Frankoski.

Also killed was Chief Warrant Officer John Grassia III, 30, a graduate of Schalmont High School in Rotterdam. He was also a New York State Trooper assigned to Troop G.

Seriously hurt in the crash was Jacob Pratt, a Rensselaer High School graduate. He’s being treated at Texas McAllen Medical Center.

Learn what his parents are now saying to the community through social media by watching the video of Dan Levy’s story.