Border Patrol rescues teen in remote desert west of Tucson
By Brady McCombs
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 04.15.2008

U.S. Border Patrol agents rescued a 17-year-old boy from Chiapas, Mexico, who was found Monday in critical condition suffering from extreme dehydration on the Tohono O’odham Reservation.

The rescue was triggered by a resident who called the Tohono O’odham Police, who then called Border Patrol, said Mike Scioli, Border Patrol Tucson Sector spokesman.

Agents, with the help of a Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine helicopter, found the boy in a remote area of the desert where he had been reported missing. He was unable to walk because he was suffering from exposure to the elements and extreme dehydration, Scioli said.
They transported him by helicopter to a Tucson hospital where he is recovering, Scioli said.

Monday’s high temperature of 95 degrees was about 14 degrees above average for this time of year according to the National Weather Service.
Border Patrol agents in the Tucson Sector have rescued 96 people in life threatening situations from Oct. 1, the beginning of fiscal year 2007, through March, Scioli said. That’s fewer than the 164 such rescues in the same time period the year before.

In that same time period, 55 illegal border crossers have been found dead, according to the Pima County and Cochise County medical examiners offices. That’s less than the 64 found in the same time period the year before.
Contact reporter Brady McCombs at 573-4213 or bmccombs@azstarnet.com.
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