Border agents rescue Honduran girl, 11, near Sierra Vista

Brady McCombs Arizona Daily Star
February 18, 2010 5:15 pm

Border Patrol agents rescued an 11-year-old Honduran girl Wednesday who had spent a night alone in the mountains south of Sierra Vista.

The girl became separated from the group of illegal immigrants Tuesday evening when agents approached the group near Hunter Canyon, located south of Sierra Vista, said Border Patrol spokeswoman Colleen Agle

The girl's 8-year-old sister, who was among those apprehended, told agents that her sister was missing. The agency launched a search of the area led by the agency's search, trauma and rescue unit, known as Borstar.

Agents located the girl alone about 11:30 a.m., Agle said. She was in good condition despite spending the night alone. The smuggler who was leading the group also got away, Agle said.

Agents reunited the girl with her younger sister at the agency's Naco station and then transferred them to the Office of Refugee Resettlement in Phoenix, where they will be set to be reunited with their parents or returned to Honduras. The Honduran Consulate was also notified, she said.

Through the first four months of fiscal year 2010, which started Oct. 1, agents have rescued 55 people, up from 39 at the same time last year.

In that same time period, the bodies of 61 illegal border crossers had been found, up from 45 at the same time last year, county medical examiner's data shows.

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