CALEXICO, California – U.S. Customs and Border Protection personnel from theAir and Marine Operations(AMO), Yuma Air Branch and theEl Centro SectorBorder Patrol rescued a woman reportedly being assaulted in the eastern desert near Calexico.
The incident occurred Monday morning at about 8 a.m., when the Yuma Air Branch crew were conducting aerial patrol operations east of Calexico. The aircrew spotted a woman being sexually assaulted on the Mexico side of the International Boundary Fence approximately 12 miles east of downtown Calexico. The aircrew activated the loudspeaker and sirens of theirEC120to scare off the assailant and observed him running away from the woman’s location.
The aircrew notified Calexico Station of the incident and landed the helicopter in an immediate response to make contact with the woman. The woman, who was bleeding profusely told crewmembers she had been shot and had a noticeable head wound. Agents responded to the location to assist the air crew in providing medical attention through the border fence in efforts to control the woman’s bleeding.
The El Centro Sector’s Foreign Operations Branch (FOB) and officials with the Mexican authorities were advised of the situation. At approximately 8:40 a.m., Mexican authorities arrived on scene and continued to provide medical assistance to the woman. The woman was then taken to a hospital in Mexico.
El Centro Sector FOB stated that a male subject found fleeing the scene was arrested by Mexican authorities.
“This is an excellent example of the type of good work that can be done through strong partnerships and the availability of AMO and Border Patrol Agents actively patrolling our Nation’s borders”, said James Schuetzler, Director, Yuma Air Branch. “That combined with mature working relationships with our Mexican law enforcement partners, help stop what was heading toward a very ugly outcome. We could not have done this without strong support from all of our partners.”
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