An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

  1. Home
  2. Newsroom
  3. Local Media Release
  4. CBP Officers Render Assistance to a Lost Senior Citizen, Reunite Her with Family

CBP Officers Render Assistance to a Lost Senior Citizen, Reunite Her with Family

Release Date
Fri, 12/19/2014

TECATE, Calif. — Earlier this week, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at the Tecate port of entry provided assistance to an elderly lady that found herself unknowingly in Mexico, and helped reunite her with her family.

On December 16, Mexican Customs officers returned to CBP officers an 85-year-old female U.S. citizen that had driven into Mexico.  She was on her way to her home in Bakersfield from the California/Nevada border.  When CBP officers encountered the woman, she appeared disoriented, and seemed unable to follow officer instructions.  She informed officers that she had nothing to eat for the previous 6 hours, and officers were concerned that she might have an underlying medical condition exacerbated by her hunger.  CBP officers provided immediate care to her and called in a paramedic unit to further evaluate her condition.

A team of Emergency Medical Service Technicians arrived and evaluated her condition. Although it appeared that her overall health was not of immediate concern they noted her confused and disoriented state, as she was totally unaware of her surroundings. They became concerned that she may also be suffering from other underlying health issues and advised that she needed to be further evaluated. She was transported to a local hospital for evaluation.

CBP officers were able to reunite the woman with her son, and arrange with him to transport her vehicle from the port of entry.

Last Modified: Feb 03, 2021