OCOTILLO, Calif. – U.S. Border Patrol agents from El Centro Sector rescued eight undocumented individuals in two separate events Monday evening in the Jacumba Wilderness region.
The first incident occurred at approximately 9:55 p.m., when El Centro Sector Dispatch received information from the Calexico Police Department (CPD) regarding a group of six undocumented individuals who illegally crossed into the United States and were lost and in need of assistance. CPD provided the last known GPS coordinates of the group.
El Centro Sector’s Border Search Trauma and Rescue (BORSTAR) agents already working in the area were notified of the distress call and responded to the location to begin searching for the individuals.
At approximately 10:30 p.m., BORSTAR agents located the six individuals, approximately 1.75 miles north of the U.S./Mexico border. Agents conducted welfare checks of the individuals and determined that they did not need medical assistance.
The second incident also occurred at approximately 9:55 p.m., when El Centro Sector’s Foreign Operations Branch (FOB) notified El Centro Station regarding two undocumented individuals who illegally crossed into the United States through the mountains and were in need of help. FOB was able to provide the last known GPS coordinates of the individuals.
BORSTAR agents already working in the area were notified of the distress call and responded to the location to begin searching for the individuals. At approximately 12 a.m., BORSTAR agents located the two individuals, approximately 500 feet north of the U.S./Mexico border. Agents conducted welfare checks of the individuals and determined that they did not need medical assistance.
All individuals were safely escorted back to the vehicle to be transported to the El Centro Sector Processing Center to be medically evaluated and processed accordingly.
Since October, El Centro Sector Border Patrol agents have successfully rescued 344 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.