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  4. Summary of Incident: Man dies in the Sonoran Desert after being left behind

Summary of Incident: Man dies in the Sonoran Desert after being left behind

Release Date
Thu, 01/16/2025

This notification is being issued to the public pursuant to the CBP policy regarding Notification and Review Procedures for Certain Deaths and Deaths in Custody and the Department of Homeland Security FY 2021 Appropriation (H. Rept. 116-458) reporting requirements related to CBP-involved deaths.

On June 27, 2024, at approximately 4:11 p.m., while tracking a group of suspected migrants, a Border Patrol Agent (BPA) assigned to the Casa Grande Station encountered a suspected undocumented noncitizen laying on his back underneath a bush near Sells, Arizona. The man was later identified as a citizen of Guatemala. At approximately 4:13 p.m., the apprehending Agent advised via service radio that the man was displaying signs of heat-related illness and needed an emergency medical technician.

At approximately 4:45 p.m., Tohono O’odham Nation Emergency Medical Services arrived on scene and assumed primary care of the man. The man was immediately transported to Banner University Medical Center in Tucson, Arizona. Once at the hospital, CBP established hospital watch. At approximately 10:10 p.m., the man was moved to the intensive care unit.

The next morning, on June 28, at approximately 6:40 a.m., the man succumbed to his medical condition and was pronounced deceased by a hospital physician.

CBP Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) Special Agents interviewed a migrant who was traveling with the decedent. The migrant stated he and the man had been drinking water, but he knew the man was nauseated and not been feeling well for about a day prior to their arrest. The migrant had left the man behind and was apprehended separately.

CBP OPR requested that the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner conduct an autopsy examination of the decedent. On July 1, 2024, the medical examiner conducted an autopsy and determined the cause of death was environmental heat exposure and the manner of death to be an accident.

CBP OPR is reviewing the incident.  The Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General has been notified.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is America's frontline: the nation's largest law enforcement organization and the world's first unified border management agency. The 65,000+ men and women of CBP protect America on the ground, in the air, and on the seas. We facilitate safe, lawful travel and trade and ensure our country's economic prosperity. We enhance the nation's security through innovation, intelligence, collaboration, and trust.

Last Modified: Jan 27, 2025