Border Patrol Saves 6 Immigrants Trapped In Canyon

POSTED: 2:24 pm PST November 8, 2007
UPDATED: 2:53 pm PST November 8, 2007


SAN DIEGO -- A search-and-rescue team with the Border Patrol in Southern California pulled a group of undocumented immigrants to safety Thursday after they became trapped in a canyon near San Ysidro.


The rescue took place at 1 a.m. Officials said the six undocumented immigrants had illegally crossed the border through an area called Spooner's Mesa, four miles west of the San Ysidro Port of Entry.

Agents using night vision saw the group enter, according to Border Patrol spokesman James Jacques. Agents went to their rescue when the group began yelling for help.

The undocumented immigrants were discovered down a vertical slope in the canyon. They could not climb out or leave the canyon without risking their lives, Jacques said.

Mountain climbers with the Border Patrol's Border Search Trauma and Rescue team were called in to pull the group to safety with a human-powered winch.

The team rappelled down the ravine, attaching safety lines and rescue harnesses to each person. They then used their vehicles as anchor points, and the agents became a "human power supply" to pull the group safely out of the canyon.

Signs and fencing are posted, warning potential illegal border crossers of the canyon's dangerous features, Jacques said. The canyon ravine's jagged ledges drop 80 feet and require mountain climbing equipment to safely exit.

Aside from minor cuts and scrapes, none of the six were injured. Each person requested a voluntary return to Mexico, officials said.

The Border Patrol has performed 152 rescues similar to this one this year across San Diego, according to Jacques.

http://www.knbc.com/news/14544494/detai ... a&psp=news