OCOTILLO, Calif. – Border Patrol agents assigned to the El Centro Sector, rescued a distressed and injured woman who had fallen from a cliff on a mountainous area in Ocotillo on Thursday.
The incident occurred Thursday night at approximately 9 p.m., after agents in the Remote Video Surveillance (RVSS), observed a man walking near Highway 98 east of Ocotillo. The man was waving his hands in an attempt to draw the attention from anyone nearby.
Agents quickly responded and made contact with the man who stated that he and his girlfriend had fallen off a 20-foot cliff while trying to enter the United States illegally. The man appeared to be without injury, but stated that his girlfriend was hurt.
injured woman off a mountain.
Agents began to backtrack the footsteps of the man to find where the girlfriend had fallen. Soon after Border Patrol Agents found the woman in pain who complained of a back injury from her fall. Agents immediately called Emergency Medical Services (EMS). EMS personnel determined that the woman needed further medical assistance at a hospital and would require an air extraction.
Border Patrol agents placed the woman on a gurney and prepared her for a medical air extraction. A REACH helicopter arrived on scene. Agents attached the gurney to the helicopter cable system. The helicopter crew safely extracted her from the area and took her to a nearby trauma hospital for evaluation.
At the hospital, an MRI revealed that the woman had a fractured spine and would need further medical attention.
Agents took the man, a 44-year-old Mexican national, to the station for further processing. The woman, a 22-year-old Mexican national, will be at the hospital until she recovers. Later, agents will process her for removal from the country.