Border patrol rescues seven since start of holiday weekend

U.S. Border Patrol agents came to the aid of distressed or injured people in seven separate rescue operations since the New Year's holiday weekend began, the agency reported Wednesday.

The most recent rescue involved two illegal immigrants who tried to cross the Salinity Canal just east of San Luis, Ariz., about 3:40 a.m. Wednesday, said agency spokesman Lloyd Easterling.

A camera operator at the Yuma sector Communications Center spotted the duo as they entered the canal but were unable to climb out. Border Patrol agents were dispatched to the scene, and the two people were pulled from the canal. No injuries were reported, and the two were taken to the Yuma Border Patrol Station for processing, Easterling said.

On Tuesday, a Yuma Border Patrol Search, Trauma and Rescue (BORSTAR) agent responded to a report by Rural Metro Fire and Rescue of a 13-year-old boy injured in a motorcycle accident in Buttercup Valley in the Imperial Sand Dunes west of Andrade. The BORSTAR agent, along with a Calexico Border Patrol agent, took emergency personnel to the scene and gave first aid to the injured youth. He was taken by ambulance to the Yuma Regional Medical Center for treatment.

Three people, including two children, were rescued in two separate incidents Sunday. About 4 p.m. near the dunes, BORSTAR agents responded to a call for medical assistance after a 12-year-old boy suffered a puncture wound to the chest. The agents arrived at the scene, stabilized boy and requested air medivac via helicopter to a hospital in San Diego, where he received further treatment for his injury.

Easterling was unable to provide details on what caused the puncture wound.

Later the same day, Yuma sector Border Patrol agents responded to a call from the Yuma County Sheriff's Office in locating a woman and her child who got lost in the desert after their vehicle became disabled while traveling on an unimproved road. The woman decided to walk for help with her child while her husband remained with the vehicle, Easterling said.

After becoming lost, she made a 911 call. Border Patrol agents found the woman and her child west of the Gila Mountains about 8:30 p.m. They reported no injuries and were taken to their residence where she contacted her husband, who was also being taken to the residence by a friend of the family, Easterling said.

Finally, on Friday, Yuma BORSTAR agents were dispatched by San Bernardino, Calif., police at about 10 p.m. after a 16-year-old girl was injured in the Imperial Sand Dunes. The female received injuries to her leg and hip after being run over while attempting to free a dune buggy that was stuck in the sand. The girl was taken to YRMC for further medical evaluation.

Easterling said agents with the agency's rescue team are usually present during busy holiday weekends at the dunes to help with injuries, and because smugglers often try and blend in with the crowds to move illegal cargo and humans.

"They're out there -- not only for Border Patrol work, they're out there for quick response to people who need it," he said. "They can administer first aid attention until they can be transported to a hospital."