TUCSON, Ariz. – U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents rescued a stranded migrant in the Baboquivari Mountains southwest of Tucson, Monday afternoon.
The woman contacted the Arizona Air Coordination Center, who coordinated the response to the call. The U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) agents located the woman and attempted to walk her out of the mountains and determined she was physically unable to continue.
An Air and Marine Operations (AMO) Blackhawk crew, assigned to the Tucson Air Branch, responded to a call from USBP agents to help extract the woman. The air crew located her near Baboquivari Peak, where rugged terrain forced them to perform a hoist extraction of the migrant and two Tucson Sector Border Patrol agents who had hiked to her location.
“This was another textbook rescue of a migrant in distress,” said Deputy Director of the Tucson Air Branch, William H. Robinson. “We work closely with our colleagues from Border Patrol to bring a bad situation to a successful conclusion.”
Agents continue to stress the dangers associated with attempting to cross the rugged terrain in Arizona, and advise against it, as the wilderness and remote location can lead to death of individuals.