Utah restaurants hold fundraiser Tuesday for fallen border agent's family

SALT LAKE CITY — Several Utah restaurants will donate a portion of their proceeds Tuesday to the wife and children of slain U.S. Border Patrol agent Nicholas Ivie.

Participating establishments are Chili's statewide, Outback Steakhouse in Orem, Buffalo Wild Wings in Lehi, Los Hermanos in Provo and Lindon, Big Al's Texas BBQ in Provo and Chick-fil-A statewide except Davis County and Logan.

Chili's, Outback Steakhouse and Buffalo Wild Wings have fliers for customers to bring in with them. Customers at the other restaurants should mention they're there for the Nicholas Ivie Memorial fund, said Rick Ivie, the fallen agent's brother.

The fliers can be found on a Facebook page for the Nicholas Ivie Memorial Benefit — Utah.

Restaurants will give 10 percent to 15 percent of diners' bills to the fund on Tuesday only.

All of the money will go directly to Christy Ivie and her two young daughters in Sierra Vista, Ariz., Rick Ivie said. Nick and Christy Ivie grew up in Utah. They moved to Arizona when he took a job with the Border Patrol in 2008.

Nick Ivie, 30, died Oct. 2 in a friendly fire incident in southeastern Arizona. He and two other agents responded from different directions to a ground sensor in a mountainous area known for drug smuggling near the Mexican border.

Ivie, who was on horseback, apparently opened fire first, wounding one of the other agents. He was killed in the return fire. After funeral services in Utah and Arizona, Ivie was buried in the Spanish Fork Cemetery.

Christy Ivie and her daughters Raigan, 3, and Presley, 22 months, continue to live in Arizona.

"They're holding together pretty good," Rick Ivie said. "I can't imagine what she's going through, and I'm sure she has her moments. But when we're around her, she seems to be holding together pretty well."

Memorials funds are also established at Zions Bank in Utah and National Bank of Arizona. Also, a Border Patrol colleague set up a donation website at gofundme.com.

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