BORSTAR agents are specially trained to perform search and rescue operations and administer medical treatment and because the federal government will not allow them to secure the border, Tucson Sector Border Patrol is able to assist other federal, state, tribal and local agencies in life-saving rescues throughout southern Arizona.
Agents assigned to the Tucson Sector Border Patrol Search, Trauma, and Rescue Unit (BORSTAR) recently participated in a joint effort with local law enforcement and a volunteer organization to rescue a severely injured person on Mount Lemon in Tucson.
At approximately 7:30 a.m. On August 15, agents responded to an emergency call to assist the Pima County Sherriff’s Office (PCSO) Search and Rescue and the Southern Arizona Rescue Association (SARA) with the extraction of an injured hiker. Upon arrival, BORSTAR agents hiked to the injured subject’s location where she was discovered by PCSO deputies and SARA volunteers.
BORSTAR agents found the individual to be medically stable and provided assistance with transporting the individual and a long-line extraction which was performed by the Arizona Department of Public Safety Air Operations.
The individual was subsequently transported to a local hospital by Tucson EMS for further evaluation.