Six individuals were recently rescued by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents in the Jacumba Wilderness region near Ocotillo, California, including a Mexican citizen requesting help after attempting to enter the United States alone.
The rescues came in two separate events within the space of 12 hours, the first of which was initiated around 7:15 P.M. on Jan. 6, a UCB press release said.
Agents at El Centro Station in California were notified of a distress call received from two hikers that claimed to be lost, the release said. Upon arriving at the last known GPS coordinates provided by the hikers, five individuals were found safe. None of the individuals required any medical assistance.
The second rescue began early morning the next day after a Mexican citizen, who illegally crossed into the country alone, called El Centro’s Foreign Operations Branch for assistance, the release said.
Agents located the lost individual three miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border and found he required no medical attention. Due to his immigration status, agents transported him “to the El Centro Sector Processing Center for additional medical evaluation and to be processed accordingly.”
“Since October, El Centro Sector Border Patrol agents have successfully rescued 76 individuals who were lost, in distress, or abandoned by smugglers,” CBP said in the release.
