On Tuesday July 11, 2023, at approximately 5:19 p.m., the Tucson Tactical Operations Center received notification of a 911 call during which the caller did not provide any information and immediately hung up. The Tactical Operations Center, in coordination with local authorities, was able to determine an approximate location of the caller and dispatched Border Patrol agents assigned to the Tucson Border Patrol Search Trauma and Rescue team.
BORSTAR agents located an adult female citizen of Colombia at approximately 6:30 p.m. in a very remote area approximately one quarter mile south of Arizona State Route 86 and mile marker 147 near Three Points, Ariz. Agents requested an air ambulance be placed on standby and for emergency medical services to respond. Agents reported the woman was conscious, lethargic, and vomiting. Agents initiated treatment for severe heat stroke.
BORSTAR agents requested the air ambulance respond to transport the woman at approximately 6:34 p.m. Agents reported via radio they were actively providing care for the woman at approximately 6:40 p.m., and it would be a few minutes before they could move her. The Three Points Fire Department arrived at approximately 6:45 p.m. at the intersection of Road 147 and SR 87, a predetermined location for BORSTAR agents to meet Three Points Fire Department due to the remote location and difficult terrain.
Agents carried the woman via a stretcher approximately 200 yards to their marked Border Patrol truck at approximately 6:52 p.m. Then, they drove approximately a quarter mile to transfer medical care of the woman to fire department medical personnel. The air ambulance arrived at the location at approximately 7:13 p.m. and subsequently transported the woman to Banner University Medical Center in Tucson, Ariz., where she was admitted. A Border Patrol agent was dispatched to the medical center to provide hospital watch over the woman at approximately 7:52 p.m.
The woman was admitted and assigned to a hospital room for treatment and observation on July 12 at approximately 3:15 a.m. Agents conducting hospital watch duties reported at approximately 6:38 a.m. the woman had been declared deceased by medical center attending physicians due to cardiac arrest at 6:24 a.m.
This incident is under review by Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Professional Responsibility. The Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General was also notified.