Man missing for 8 days rescued in remote mountain region near Mexican border

Ryan Dickinson

OCOTILLO, Calif. – U.S. Border Patrol agents from El Centro Sector, along with bi-national coordination with Mexican officials, rescued a man that had been missing for eight days early this morning.

On March 12, at approximately 6:15 p.m., Mexican officials with the consulate notified the El Centro Sector Foreign Operations Branch of a call made by an individual who stated that he had been with a group that illegally entered the United States near the International Boundary in the mountainous area south of Ocotillo on March 7. The man informed the consulate that they had left someone behind who was not able to keep up. That individual, according to the caller, was diabetic and had heart condition. This information was disseminated immediately. Agents performing their assigned duties in the area responded to the location to begin searching for the man. The Mountain Disrupt Unit (MDU) and the Border Search Trauma and Recue (BORSTAR) team also responded.

The El Centro Sector agents, including MDU and BORSTAR, were unable to locate the individual. All personnel would continue the search for missing man in the days following the call.

At approximately 8:18 a.m. this morning, MDU agents found a man who was lost and in need of medical attention. BORSTAR agents shortly arrived and requested Emergency Medical Services (EMS). The agents determined that the man, an illegal alien from Mexico, was the missing man.


The illegal alien, unable to walk, was carried on an agent’s shoulders to the Interstate 8, where local fire emergency services were standing by. BORSTAR and local fire treated the man until EMS arrived. EMS arrived on scene and transported the man to a local hospital to treat his ailments.


The illegal alien will be taken to the El Centro Sector Processing Center once he is medically cleared for further processing.

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