Alamogordo, New Mexico - On Monday, a multi-agency effort, including the U.S. Border Patrol in New Mexico, helped save the life of a lost hiker who was severely dehydrated.

During the midday heat, U.S. Border Patrol Agents from the Alamogordo Station responded to assist in the search of a lost 71-year-old man who had been hiking in the Indian Wells Canyon, east of Alamogordo.  After an hour-and-a-half search, a Border Patrol Agent found the missing man under a bush.  The Agent soon learned he was dehydrated and unable to walk.  The man was provided water, while the Agent reached out to others for additional resources.  The Agent stayed to help care for him, and waited on additional help from an Otero County Deputy Sheriff.

Agents called on the U.S. Border Patrol Search, Trauma, and Rescue Team (BORSTAR) who deployed a paramedic agent on-board a CPB Air and Marine Operations helicopter.  When they arrived, the paramedic BORSTAR agent was able to monitor the man as others carried the man to a safe landing zone where he could be loaded on the helicopter.  The man was airlifted nearby to the NMSU campus, where local emergency services were waiting for him.

This demonstrates how CBP’s rapid deployment of resources can mean the difference between life and death, in addition to the value of having strong partnerships with law enforcement personnel throughout New Mexico and west Texas.