U.S. Customs and Border Protection used a helicopter this week to rescue two people suffering from heat stress during a hike in the desert south of Tucson, the agency said.
Shortly after 1:00 p.m. July 3, the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office contacted Border Patrol for help rescuing the pair near Montana Peak, the release said. The peak is near Arivaca, about 60 miles south of Tucson.
The pair, a man and woman, requested medical assistance. One was suffering from extreme heat stress and the other was falling in-and-out of consciousness, officials said.
Border Patrol agents climbed the peak on foot. Agents found the two people just before 3 p.m. and began treating them while a helicopter was called in for evacuation, the release said.
A UH-60 Black Hawk aircrew left Davis-Monthan Air Force Base about 3:45 p.m.
Crews eventually hoisted the pair from the peak at flew them to Banner University Medical Center for further treatment, the release said.
“During the hot summer months people in the deserts of southern Arizona can quickly succumb to the heat,” Jose Muriente, Deputy Director of Air Operations, Tucson Air Branch, said in the release. “In this case, the man and woman were able to realize the situation they were in and contact emergency services and CBP was able to respond to the situation. All too often, people wait too long to call for help.”
