DEMING, New Mexico –U.S. Border Patrol Agents along with a helicopter from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Office of Air and Marine (OAM), El Paso Air Branch/Deming Air Unit rescued a man who called 911 for help after illegally crossing the border.
Area where U.S. Border Patrol and Air and Marine found the man who had reported that he was lost, in distress and needed assistance.
On Wednesday, the Deming Border Patrol Station was contacted by the Luna County 911 Dispatch Center, who advised that they had received a call from a man who told them he was lost, in distress and in need of assistance. Juan Miguel Magana-Galicia’s cell phone signal had been triangulated by the Luna County 911 Center, and three OAM helicopters were immediately sent to search the area. Once, located, the man was given an initial medical assessment and then taken to the Border Patrol’s Forward Operating Base (FOB), Camp Ramsey, for further evaluation by an EMT from the U.S. Border Patrol Search, Trauma and Rescue (BORSTAR) Team. The man was in good health and had told the agents that he illegally crossed the border a day earlier. He went on to say he had been walking through the desert and realized he was lost while attempting to make his way further into the United States. Magana-Galicia averted a possible life-threatening scenario by reaching out for assistance.
These incidents demonstrate the cooperation between the U.S. Border Patrol and the CBP El Paso Air Branch to work together to secure the border and protect migrants who are in need after crossing the border in remote, outlying areas.