YUMA – A pregnant woman and five other people lost in the desert after they illegally entered the country were rescued by U.S. Border Patrol agents working near Yuma.
On August 15, at approximately 1:30 p.m., according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Yuma Station agents apprehended a group of seven illegal aliens 15 miles east of San Luis.
The told agents that six individuals had remained behind. A short time later, a distress call was received from a woman stating that she and five others, including four juveniles, were lost in the desert.
Agents accompanying a Yuma Sector Border Patrol Search, Trauma, and Rescue team soon located the group, among them a 24-year-old Guatemalan woman who was four months pregnant. In route to Yuma Station, agents provided immediate aid to the pregnant female, who had begun to vomit, and contacted emergency medical services for an ambulance transport to a local hospital.
The woman was treated and released from the hospital on Saturday.
The entire group of 13 illegal aliens was processed for immigration violations.
Border Patrol has placed 24 rescue beacons within the Yuma Sector. The beacons, which are 25 feet tall and fitted with a blue strobe light visible more than eight miles away, are designed to assist illegal aliens in distress. Once a beacon’s signal is activated, agents are able to locate the distressed travelers, provide first aid and save lives.