OCOTILLO, Calif. – U.S. Border Patrol agents from El Centro Sector rescued eight undocumented individuals in two separate events in the Jacumba Wilderness region over the weekend.
The first incident occurred Friday at approximately 9:45 p.m., when El Centro Station received a call from the California Highway Patrol (CHP) regarding two individuals who illegally crossed into the United States and were lost. CHP provided GPS coordinates and a brief description of the location given by the lost individuals.
Agents working in the field were notified of the distress call. They responded and began the search using the last known GPS coordinates and the given description of the area. Almost 10 hours later Saturday morning, at approximately 7:58 a.m., agents located the two male adult Mexican nationals, approximately four miles north of the U.S./Mexico border, near the Interstate 8 highway. Agents conducted welfare checks of the individuals and safely escorted them back to the vehicle to be transported to the El Centro Sector Processing Center to be medically evaluated.
The second incident occurred Sunday, at approximately 2:30 p.m., when El Centro Sector Dispatch received a call from Calexico Police Department (CPD) regarding a group of individuals who illegally crossed into the United States in the mountains near Ocotillo. CPD stated that the group were lost, out of water, and in need of medical attention.
Agents working in the field were notified of the distress call and began the search for the group using the last known GPS coordinates provided. At approximately 2:56 p.m., agents located the group of six adult Mexican nationals, five males and a female, 50 feet north of the U.S./Mexico border. Agents conducted welfare checks of all individuals and safely escorted them back to the vehicle to be transported to the El Centro Sector Processing Center to be medically evaluated.
All the individuals of each incident will be processed accordingly.
Since October, El Centro Sector Border Patrol agents have successfully rescued 325 individuals lost or in distress.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation’s borders at and between official ports of entry. CBP is charged with securing the borders of the United States while enforcing hundreds of laws and facilitating lawful trade and travel.