Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced it assisted in rescuing two American desert hikers who were stranded in remote areas of southern Arizona in separate incidents over the weekend.
Tucson sector Border Patrol Search Trauma and Rescue (BORSTAR) agents and Pinal County Air 1 crew located the injured hiker from the air, said CBP Arizona public affairs specialist John B. Mennell.
After a BORSTAR agent was lowered to the ground, the hiker was hoisted up with the agent into the Pinal County helicopter.
“Once somebody’s life is in danger, it doesn’t matter if they’re an illegal alien or if they are a United States citizen,” Mennell told NTD. “We are going to turn our assets towards getting that person out of the position they’re in.”
The hiker was subsequently taken to a landing zone to be treated by local emergency medical services.
The Pinal County Sheriff’s Office did not respond to requests for comment by press time, and the hiker’s name has yet to be released.
Superstition Mountains are known for extreme heat, their rugged landscape, and their proximity to the Superstition Wilderness near Gold Canyon.
The second hiker was identified as 61-year-old hiker Robert K. Wirth. Wirth had been lost for two days near Pauline Ridge on the Arizona Trail, which stretches some 800 miles across the entire length of the state from the U.S.–Mexico border to Utah.
Santa Cruz County Undersheriff Gerardo Castillo said Wirth called 9-1-1 on his cellphone.
“Reception was very bad but coordinates were obtained,” Castillo told NTD in an email.
CBP officials said agents assigned to the Sonoita Border Patrol Station responded to the call and a CBP air and marine operations helicopter located Wirth.
“They found him on the trail,” Mennell said. “It’s very hilly in that area and there is lots of forestation so we didn’t have an ability to land.”
After ground agents rescued him, Wirth was transported to the Sonoita-Elgin Fire Department for evaluation and treatment.
He was released with no injuries, according to Castillo.
