SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - Border Patrol agents are being credited with saving a man stranded in an East County canyon this week.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection said agents were pursuing a group of people suspected of crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally in Hauser Canyon near Potrero, Calif., Tuesday. After several hours, agents found the 28-year-old man suffering from heat-related injuries.
CBP said agents gave medical assistance but could not carry him out of the rugged terrain, requiring the man to be airlifted to a local hospital by a San Diego County Sheriff's helicopter.
The man, identified as a Mexican national, was released from the hospital and into CBP custody Wednesday. He will be brought back to Mexico upon reinstatement of his prior deportation, CBP said.
CBP said the man is believed to have been left behind by a human smuggler guiding a small group of people across the border illegally. Those suspected of being a part of that group have not been found.
Since October 2016, Border Patrol agents have recorded 39 rescues of individuals in the San Diego region, according to CBP.
