OCOTILLO, Calif. – U.S. Border Patrol agents from El Centro Sector rescued an illegal alien abandoned and in distress in the Jacumba Wilderness region on Tuesday.
The incident occurred at approximately 8:29 a.m., when El Centro Sector Communications Dispatch was notified by the California Highway Patrol Communications of a distress call made a woman that was left behind by smugglers. She stated she had been traveling with a group of four; she had been left behind and the other four later arrested. Agents performing their assigned duties in the area responded to the location of where that arrest took place in order to search for her by retracing the footprints left by the group.
A Border Patrol agent flying with a National Guard air asset stated that they were operating in the area and would also responding to the call to assist with the search. At approximately 9:12 a.m., the air unit observed a woman near an old abandoned mine. The BPA in the aircraft was able to make contact with the woman and determined that she was the female that had made the distress call.
The agent determined she was in good health and not requiring medical attention. An immigration interview conducted by the agent identified the woman as a Mexican national illegally present in the United States.
The woman was transported to a rally point for processing where agents conducted a criminal background investigation and further medical screening. The woman was expelled to Mexico immediately after she cleared the screening process.