CBP: Guatemalan woman found dead after being lost in desert

A Guatemalan woman was found dead by Yuma Sector Border Patrol after she became sick on the Barry M. Goldwater Firing Range Monday and was left behind by the group she was traveling with.

According to Customs and Border Protection ( CBP ), Mexican emergency services informed the Yuma Sector Operations Center at about 4:38 p.m., that they had been contacted by a group of 10 undocumented immigrants who were lost somewhere in the desert. The caller told CBP that one of the women in the group was losing consciousness, and they left her behind.

Agents, along with an Air and Marines Operations helicopter crew, found the body of the woman, who was in her 40s , and five undocumented immigrants from the air. Agents on the ground located four more people nearby.

“This was an unnecessary death,” said Yuma Sector Chief Patrol Agent Anthony J. Porvaznik . ” This group should never have been on the Barry M. Goldwater Bombing Range ( BMGR ). Yuma Sector agents have seen an increase in illegal entries in this area, and we feel strongly that effective anti-pedestrian/vehicle barriers are needed to improve the security and safety there. The planned border infrastructure improvements on the BMGR will aid in the impedance and denial of illegal entries along the Southwest Border, which will decrease the likelihood of unnecessary death, injury and criminal smuggling activity in this area. ”

The other immigrants traveling in her group were found in good health and were transported to the Yuma Border Patrol Station for immigration processing. The group received food, water, and care while awaiting prosecution for immigration violations.