Nine people rescued from the Pinal County desert after being left there by smugglers
Story Arizona Daily Star | Posted: Sunday, July 4, 2010 9:27 am

Nine people, including two children, were rescued in the Pinal County desert early Saturday after being abandoned by their smugglers.

A person from the group called 911 at about 1 a.m. Saturday and told dispatchers that he and eight other people had been left in the desert and were out of water, according to a press release from the Pinal County Sheriff's Office.

The Communications Division of the sheriff's office determined the group was approximately eight miles south of Interstate 8 and Milepost 156 by using the signal of the 911 call, the release.

The sheriff's office search and rescue crew, an Arizona Department of Public Safety ranger helicopter and the U.S. Border Patrol found the group a short time later suffering from extreme dehydration, the release said. Members of the group also weren't able to move, the release said.

The group included two adult males, five adult females and two children, ages 6 and 11.

The group told rescuers they were left in the desert two days prior to their rescue and had to drink their own urine, the release said.

They were all transported to Casa Grande Regional Hospital, where they are being treated for extreme dehydration, the release said.

Once they are released from the hospital, the group will be turned over to the U.S. Border Patrol for deportation, the release said.

Posted in Crime on Sunday, July 4, 2010 9:27 am Updated: 9:34 am. | Tags
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