Big Idea

• An illegal immigrant fell off a 10-foot cliff
• A helicopter was needed to conduct the rescue
• A total of two immigrants were rescued
• Tucson aircrews have rescued a total of 43 individuals in 2020
• Read more...

The rescue took place in the Baboquivari Wilderness Peak

TUCSON, Ariz — U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Air and Marine Operations (AMO) agents and a U.S. Border Patrol Search, Trauma, and Rescue (BORSTAR) EMT rescued two illegal entrants in a remote location in the Baboquivari Wilderness Peak area Tuesday.

In the afternoon, a Tucson Air Branch UH-60 aircrew responded to a 9-11 call a woman had been injured in the Baboquivari Wilderness Peak area after having fallen off a 10-foot cliff. The woman suffered numerous abrasion and was bleeding from the head.

“Our aircrews are the best at what they do, said Deputy Director, Tucson Air Branch, Hunter Robinson. They are able to quickly shift from their law enforcement capacity to a search and rescue function, reaching these individuals, saving their lives.”

The Tucson-based Black Hawk crew located the female, and one male illegal entrant. Due to remote location of the individuals, the crew inserted a BORSTAR EMT and an AMO agent via hoist.

Once the EMT had stabilized and evaluated the woman, the aircrew extracted both individuals via hoist, and landed near a local highway, turning the individual over to Border Patrol, who transported the women to a local hospital for further medical evaluation.

In FY20, Tucson aircrews rescued 43 individuals.

Please visit www.cbp.gov to view additional news releases and other information pertaining to Customs and Border Protection. Follow us on Twitter at @CBPAMO.