KINGSVILLE, Texas – Yesterday, the life of a Honduran national was saved by a Missing Migrant Program (MMP) placard.
Yesterday evening, the Kleberg County Sheriff’s Office contacted the Javier Vega, Jr. Checkpoint to notify agents of a 911 call received from a man lost in their area of responsibility. The man advised that he was unable to ascertain his coordinates from his phone due to poor reception. While lost in the vast ranch lands of Kleberg county, the man encountered an MMP placard. Agents orchestrated a successful rescue mission and were able to locate the lost subject. The man was found to be in good health and did not require further medical attention. Once, the subject’s health was assessed, agents provided him with water and transported him to the station for further processing.
These rescue placards are part of the MMP which was established by the Border Patrol in an effort to save lives. Rescue placards are deployed in areas which have the most impact on rescue efforts throughout the Rio Grande Valley. There are currently over 800 posted placards and 15 rescue beacons within the Rio Grande Valley Sector. Rescue beacons differ from placards as they are equipped with lights and are visible from much greater distances. They also relay a distress signal to assist in rescue efforts.
The Rio Grande Valley MMP will continue to enhance on the 911 Location Marker Project by deploying additional rescue placards and gather other terrestrially based landmarks to serve as reference locations. These lifesaving efforts will expand RGV MMP’s footprint thus saving additional lives.
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