Ocotillo, California - U.S. Border Patrol agents from El Centro Sector rescued two lost undocumented noncitizens, father and son, in the Jacumba Wilderness region near Ocotillo.

The incident occurred Tuesday afternoon at approximately 4:45 p.m., when El Centro Sectors Foreign Operations Branch (FOB) notified El Centro Station agents that they had received a call from Grupo Beta, of a distress call made by a father and son who illegally crossed the United States/ Mexico international boundary. Grupo Beta is a service by the National Institute of Migration of Mexico offering water, medical aid, and information to immigrants at risk. The undocumented noncitizens stated that they were lost in the mountains and had no water. El Centro Station’s Mountain Disrupt Unit responded to the area and began the search using GPS coordinates provided by Grupo Beta.

Air support also responded to the area to begin searching for the men. At approximately 5:20 p.m., agents located the lost father and son, nationals of Mexico, and conducted a welfare check.

The rescued undocumented noncitizens were assessed, and no medical attention was required. Agents transported them to the El Centro Processing Center for further processing and were removed back to Mexico.

Since October, El Centro Sector Border Patrol agents have successfully rescued 104 individuals lost or in distress.