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Immigrant dies in snowy San Diego County

The Associated Press

ALPINE

A border crossing proves deadly for an illegal immigrant in San Diego County.

The Border Patrol says one man died and six others were rescued this morning after they became lost in freezing, snowy weather about 60 miles from the Mexican border.

The Mexican nationals were in the Corte Madera area of Pine Valley, more than 4,000 feet above sea level, when they became disoriented in ankle-deep snow.

One managed to contact the California Highway Patrol by phone. The C-H-P called the Border Patrol. Agents trained in search-and-rescue hunted three hours before finding the group.

One man was dead and the others were treated for non-life-threatening conditions.

Border Patrol spokesman Richard Kite says it's not the first time that immigrants have tried to avoid border guards by hitting the back-country.

Published: Saturday, March 11, 2006 21:45 PST