BORSTAR Agents Rescue Lost and Injured Individuals near Ocotillo

OCOTILLO, Calif. – U.S. Border Patrol agents from El Centro Sector successfully rescued two individuals Saturday afternoon.

The incident occurred at about 3:50 p.m., when El Centro Sector received a distress call made from an individual who illegally crossed the international boundary in the mountains 23 miles west of Calexico. The individual stated she was with another woman who was injured and needed assistance. The information was relayed to El Centro Station agents performing their assigned duties in the area and they responded to the location to begin searching for the pair. El Centro Sector Border Search Trauma and Rescue (BORSTAR) agents along with air support also responded to the area to assist in the search.

At about 6 p.m., BORSTAR agents located one of the subjects and back tracked the area to search for the injured subject.  After a brief search, the second woman was located and agents determined she was in need of medical air evacuation. An air ambulance was requested and responded to the area but could not land due to the rugged terrain. BORSTAR agents began extracting the woman from the canyon to an alternate location in preparation for ground transport by Emergency Medical Services (EMS).   

The injured woman was then transferred to EMS where she was transported to a local hospital for additional treatment.  Agents conducted a welfare check on the other woman and determined she did not need any medical treatment.

Agents transported the uninjured woman, a 21-year-old undocumented individual from Mexico, to the El Centro Processing Center for further processing and was subsequently expelled back to Mexico.

Since October, El Centro Sector Border Patrol agents have rescued 124 individuals lost or in distress.