Ocotillo, California - U.S. Border Patrol agents from El Centro Sector in a combined effort, rescued eight undocumented individuals in the Jacumba Wilderness region early last week. 

The incident occurred at approximately 12:40 a.m., when El Centro Sector Dispatch received a call from the Mexicali Police Department Dispatch (MPD) regarding a group of individuals who illegally crossed into the United States and were now in distress. MPD stated that the eight individuals consisting of four adults and four minors were without water. One of the minor individuals was believed to have a fever.

El Centro Station Dispatch notified agents working in the field of the distress call, provided a contact number of an individual within the group and the last known GPS coordinates. Agents responded and began the search for the group. The Air and Marine Operations (AMO) Yuma Air Branch and El Centro Sector’s Horse Patrol Unit (HPU) responded to assist in the search.

At approximately 12:50 a.m., the aircrew visually located the group about 100 feet north of the U.S./Mexico border. Within 10 minutes, at approximately 1 a.m., HPU responded to the area and located the group of eight individuals, all nationals of Honduras.   

Agents conducted welfare checks of the individuals and safely escorted them back to the vehicle. They were 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 275 individuals lost or in distress.