U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations (AMO) helicopter crews carried out two separate rescues in the Franklin and Organ mountains last weekend.
On August 9, the El Paso Air Branch of CBP/AMO received a request from El Paso County Search and Rescue to assist with a helicopter hoist rescue for a hiker suffering from severe dehydration in the Franklin Mountains. A Hoist Certified crew was called back on duty, and a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter equipped with a hoist lift was dispatched at 3 p.m., carrying a rescue specialist. The helicopter hovered about 50 feet above the ground while the rescue specialist was lowered to reach the dehydrated hiker and two members of the search and rescue team who were already providing aid. All four individuals were lifted into the helicopter and taken to a nearby road, where an ambulance transported the hiker to a local hospital.
While returning from this mission, the same UH-60 Black Hawk responded to another call for help from New Mexico State Police regarding a hiker experiencing chest pains and numb fingers in the Organ Mountains near Las Cruces, New Mexico. The crew picked up an Emergency Medical Technician from a local fire department before searching for about 30 minutes. The hiker was found at approximately 4:43 p.m. in a mountain valley at an elevation of around 8,300 feet. The rescue specialist was lowered roughly 130 feet to secure the patient, after which both were hoisted into the aircraft. Following evaluation by the EMT, they landed on a road to transfer the patient to an ambulance for transport to a hospital.
After completing these missions, there were no further requests for assistance, so the aircraft and aircrew returned to their headquarters at El Paso Air Branch.
“Our CBP AMO agents regularly train and prepare for life-saving missions like these with our local police and fire department search and rescue teams. It is because of this coordination we can successfully conduct these missions in the harsh, austere mountains and desert of West Texas and New Mexico,” said Air Branch Director Efren Gonzalez, El Paso. “The investment in equipment, training and coordination paid off with these successful rescues.”
CBP describes itself as America's frontline—the largest law enforcement organization in the country—and says its personnel work on land, air, and sea to protect national security through innovation, intelligence sharing, collaboration with other agencies, and public trust.
