MARFA, TX– U.S. Border Patrol Agents--including members of its International Liaison Unit, the El Paso Air Branch of CBP Air and Marine Operations (AMO) and the Government of Mexico teamed up yesterday to locate a group of undocumented immigrants lost in the desert in west Texas.
On Tuesday morning, agents from the Sierra Blanca Border Patrol Station were notified by the Hudspeth County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) that a distress call had come in as a “911” request for assistance from a group who had become lost. The call concerned one male and two female subjects who were lost, including a five-year-old female.
HCSO dispatch was able to patch the call over to the Sierra Blanca Border Patrol Checkpoint, where more information was gathered in an effort to locate the lost group. Sierra Blanca Border Patrol Agents responded to the general location. Air Interdiction Agents from AMO were contacted and also responded to search for the subjects.
At approximately 10:00 a.m., CBP first-responders located the three subjects in an area known as “Calamity Gap”, located south of Sierra Blanca, Texas. The man and two women were provided provisions and determined to be in good health, and did not request medical assistance.
“This incident is a great example of how CBP, U.S. Border Patrol and Air and Marine Operations, work in close coordination with local and foreign partners, not only in securing our nation’s border, but in preserving human life. I commend all those that immediately responded and worked together in successfully rescuing the group in distress,” Big Bend Sector Acting Chief Patrol Agent Victor M. Velazquez said.
The subjects are being evaluated and processed today. It is anticipated that they will be returned to their country of origin once that determination is fully established.
Big Bend Sector Motto: “Protecting a Quarter of the Southwest Border”