YUMA, Ariz. —A U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Air and Marine Operations (AMO) Yuma Air Branch AS350 crew responded to a Mexico 911 call, yesterday, locating two subjects near the southern end of the Granite Mountains.
Air and Marine agents initiated an aerial search and found the subjects atop a ridgeline, dropped Gatorades, and signaled for them to descend from the mountain. The aircrew landed, and delivered an EMT to provide medical attention before Ajo Border Patrol agents arrived to take both into custody.
illegal aliens from atop a mountain in Yuma
County Tuesday
The Yuma Air Branch continues to conduct search and rescue operations to deliver life-saving medical care to those in need. This fiscal year so far, Yuma-based aircrews have completed 52 rescues, composing 34 percent of all Southwest Region rescues, and 30 percent of AMO rescues during the same timeframe.
In one example from May 2020, Yuma-based aircrews located two groups of people in need and helped to coordinate rescues with Border Patrol agents. An EC120 crew located a couple in medical distress and an AS350 crew found a group that had been lost in the desert for a week without water.
The EC120 aircraft is a medium-range, turbine-powered helicopter used by AMO primarily as a Light Observation Helicopter. The EC120 provides a highly-effective aerial surveillance platform in the border desert areas where terrain can be difficult to traverse on foot.
The AS350 A-STAR helicopter is a short-range, turbine-powered helicopter. AMO uses these Light Enforcement Helicopters (LEH) to perform missions such as aerial patrol and surveillance of stationary or moving targets.
In Fiscal Year 2019, AMO enforcement actions resulted in the approximate seizure or disruption of 284,825 pounds of cocaine; 101,874 pounds of marijuana; 51,058 pounds of methamphetamine; 935 weapons and $34.1 million. AMO enforcement actions also facilitated 1,575 arrests and 52,036 apprehensions of illegal aliens.