TUCSON, Ariz. – Tucson Sector Border Patrol agents, assisted by Arizona Department of Public Safety and Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office helicopter units, rescued two distressed men lost in the desert near Gila Bend early Monday morning.
Just before midnight Sunday, a local emergency response call center routed a 911 call to Tucson Sector agents from two men claiming to be in lost in the desert. Dispatchers provided a general search area to agents who, with the assistance of an MCSO helicopter, located the men several hours later in a remote area near Gila Bend. Difficult terrain forced the MCSO helicopter to drop off Emergency Medical Technicians, one a Tucson Sector agent and the other a Gila Bend Fire Department firefighter.
and personnel from other LE agencies
The EMTs medically stabilized the two men shortly after 6 a.m. The men were then airlifted to a local hospital by AZDPS Helicopter Trooper-Paramedics.
“This rescue illustrates the expertise and dedication, not only of the Border Patrol Agents at the Ajo Station, but of the first responders that serve our communities”, said Rob Allen, Acting Patrol Agent in Charge of the Ajo Station. “With rising temperatures in southern Arizona, they are a beacon of hope to those who find themselves lost or stranded in the desert.”
Both men were found to be illegally present in the country and will be processed for immigration violations once medical staff discharges them from the hospital.
Since Friday, Tucson Sector agents have rescued 15 different people in eight separate incidents throughout southern Arizona.
Anyone in immediate distress in Arizona’s vast outdoor recreational and wilderness areas is urged to call 911 or to seek out a rescue beacon. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection works closely with other federal, tribal, state and local partners to resolve search and rescue operations across southern Arizona.