Texas Border Business
EL PASO, Texas – A U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations helicopter crew and U.S. Border Patrol Special Operations Detachment agents rescued an injured hiker in the Franklin Mountains State Park on Aug. 15.
At 9:30 p.m., CBP AMO received a call to assist El Paso Fire Department personnel with the Combined Search and Rescue Team who were treating an injured U.S. citizen who had fallen and injured himself during a hiking trip. Due to the steep terrain the COMSAR team was unable to safely transport the patient out of the mountains.
After receiving the request from El Paso COMSAR, an off-duty AMO UH-60 Black Hawk crew was recalled to assist. The aircrew coordinated with El Paso Sector Border Patrol Special Operations Detachment and COMSAR to reach the patient in a remote, high-altitude area.
Operating in challenging mountainous terrain using night vision goggles, the aircrew executed multiple precision hoist iterations from more than 90 feet to deploy an AMO rescue specialist and two Special Operations Detachment Border Patrol Tactical Unit agents. The patient, suffering from multiple injuries, was stabilized and transported to El Paso University Medical Center.
“Our collaboration with COMSAR resulted in a successful rescue,” said Director Efren Gonzalez of AMO El Paso Air Branch. “I am proud of our aircrew and agents.”
CBP and El Paso COMSAR regularly train and operate together for rescue missions to save human lives in the rough, mountainous, and desert terrain of West Texas.
