OCOTILLO, Calif. – U.S. Border Patrol agents from El Centro Sector apprehended a single undocumented individual while in the process of rescuing three individuals in the Jacumba Wilderness region Thursday evening.
At approximately 6:40 p.m., El Centro Sector’s Border Search Trauma and Rescue (BORSTAR) unit was notified by local law enforcement of a 9-1-1 call they received regarding lost migrants in distress and in need of assistance.
At approximately 7:40 p.m., using the last known GPS coordinates provided, BORSTAR along with an aircraft from San Diego Air and Marine Operations, located a subject near the area of the coordinates. Through an interview of this individual, it was determined that he was not the lost migrant who initiated the 9-1-1 call. At approximately 10:40 p.m., BORSTAR located three individuals from the primary distress call, seven miles north of the U.S./Mexico border, just south of Interstate 8.
Agents performed a wellness check of all the individuals, and it was determined that the three were dehydrated and were provided oral fluids. No additional medical assistance was needed. Agents determined that none of the individuals possessed the required documents to be legally present in the United States.
The four adult males, between the ages of 19-34, all Mexican nationals were taken into custody and transported to the El Centro Sector Processing Center for additional medical evaluation and processed accordingly.
Since October, El Centro Sector Border Patrol agents have successfully rescued 202 individuals who were lost, in distress, or abandoned by smugglers.
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