Border Patrol Hunts Group Possibly Lost in Desert
Border Patrol agents searched the Southern California desert Friday for a large group of illegal immigrants who were reportedly lost after crossing from Mexico.
Agents planned to end the search at nightfall if they found no sign of the group, said Kerry Anderson, assistant chief of the patrol’s El Centro sector.
The search began Thursday after Mexican authorities reported that a group of 30 to 60 immigrants had set off from the desert west of Mexicali and might have become lost in nearby mountains. It was unknown whether they had managed to cross into the United States.
“There’s been no indication that that amount of people has crossed the border,” Anderson said.
Daytime temperatures in the area have been above 105 degrees all week. Mexican authorities Thursday found the body of a 36-year-old woman who appeared to have died from heat exposure while attempting to cross into the United States.
During their search, U.S. Border Patrol agents found a group of 44 immigrants who were attempting to enter the country at night. But they weren’t lost and were not suffering from the heat, Anderson said. All were deported without incident, he added.
Agents, aided by a Border Patrol helicopter, searched an area about 100 miles east of San Diego in western Imperial County.
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