Migrants Rescued After Being Abandoned for 10 Days in AZ Desert

Border Patrol agents rescued a group of 10 migrants who were lost in the desert after being abandoned by human smugglers. The migrants spent 10 days in the Arizona desert — at least six of those without water.

A tweet from the White House reports that Border Patrol agents and an aircrew from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) began a search for a group of lost migrants after receiving a 911 call. The Air and Marine Operations (AMO) located the lost migrants and landed with a Border Patrol emergency medical technician.

The agents provided medical assistance after learning the migrants wandered in the desert for 10 days. Officials report the migrants did not have water for six of those days.

“Crossing the border illegally is dangerous,” the White House official tweeted.

So far this year, more than 250 migrants died while or shortly after illegally crossing the border from Mexico into the U.S., according to the Missing Migrants Project. At least 75 of those occurred along the Arizona border with Mexico.

The migrant deaths include 157 men, 30 women, and 13 children, the report states. The gender of 51 migrants could not be determined.

Earlier this month, Border Patrol agents responded to another group of 10 which became lost in Texas after illegally crossing the border, Breitbart Texas reported. One fell unconscious.
Eagle Pass South Station Border Patrol officials received a 911 call about a group needing assistance on August 3. The agents executed a search of a remote area of Maverick County and eventually located the group. A statement obtained from Del Rio Sector officials states that the day was one of the hottest of this year with temperatures reaching above the 100-degree mark.

“Prolonged exposure during the South Texas summer months is extremely dangerous for those not prepared for the unforgiving environment,” Del Rio Sector Chief Patrol Agent Raul L. Ortiz said in the written statement. “Our agents know these conditions well and risked their own safety to prevent further loss of life.”

One of the men, a 47-year-old Mexican national, became unresponsive. Agents quickly began CPR on the man and contacted an ambulance for assistance. Despite their best efforts, the Mexican man died at the scene, officials stated.