Courtesy of Customs and Border ProtectionTUCSON, AZ (CBS5) -
An illegal immigrant who got lost and ended up perched on a near-vertical cliff in the Cerro Colorado Mountains in southern Arizona was rescued in a difficult, joint operation on Tuesday.
The man, whose name was not released, was unable to give the 911 dispatcher his exact location but a helicopter crew from Customs and Border Protection's Office of Air and Marine spotted the man around 10 p.m.
Tucson Sector Border Patrol's Search, Trauma and Rescue team, known as BORSTAR, determined the rescue would not be so easy. The team decided it would be safer to delay the operation until daybreak.
BORSTAR agents remained on scene throughout the night. By 5 a.m. Wednesday, rescuers started their ascent using a Technical Rope Rescue system. Four hours later, a BORSTAR agent climbed to within 30 feet of the man but had to stop because of his position on the cliff and a lack of anchor points for the rope.
The team concluded the man would have to be rescued from the air.
A CBP Blackhawk helicopter crew from the Tucson Air Branch was mobilized. The crew was able to rescue the man by using some tricky methods that incorporate the Helicopter Rope Suspension Technique.
Air agents fast roped to the stranded subject and prepared him for extraction. Once he was airlifted to a safe area, he was lowered to BORSTAR agents on the ground. He was medically evaluated and treated for mild dehydration before being taken to the Tucson Border Patrol Station for further processing.
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