Yuma Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents, alongside pilots from the Yuma Sector Air Branch and the Arizona Department of Public Safety, collaborated to rescue migrants in distress south of the Granite Mountains on September 30 and October 1. This information was released by CBP on October 4.
According to the news release, a tracking operation commenced in Ajo with assistance from a crew of the Yuma Sector Air Branch. A signal fire overnight led agents to part of a group who reported leaving another member behind after that person had died. With this information, Yuma Sector’s Mobile Response Team and Border Patrol Search Trauma and Rescue Unit were activated. Agents found an extremely dehydrated 14-year-old and provided emergency medical care while requesting an air ambulance.
As agents carried the teen from the mountainside, pilots with the Arizona Department of Public Safety responded to a nearby area and transported the male teenager to a hospital for advanced medical care.
While continuing patrols in the area, Yuma Air Branch pilots located a fifth migrant who appeared to be in distress. The AS350 aircrew returned to the initial rescue site, picked up an agent certified as an Emergency Medical Technician, and landed near the fifth migrant to provide medical care. He was treated for dehydration at the scene and transported to Wellton Station.
“As is evidenced by this case, when migrants cross the border illegally, they put their lives in peril regardless of the time of year. The terrain along the border is extreme, the relentless summer heat is severe, and remote areas are unforgiving. Far too many people making a similar trek have died of dehydration and heat stroke,” said Yuma Sector Chief Patrol Agent Sean McGoffin.
The Yuma Sector spans approximately 181,670 square miles between California and Arizona. It includes 126 miles of the US Border from Imperial Sand Dunes in California to the Yuma-Pima County Line, according to US Customs and Border Protection’s web page focused on this sector.
US Border Patrol is a federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Homeland Security responsible for safeguarding national borders and preventing illegal entry of people and contraband. Established in 1924, it operates in 328 ports of entry and protects 7,000 miles of land borders along with 95,000 miles of maritime borders.
