Border agent discovers 2 babies abandoned in Organ Pipe National Monument

LUKEVILLE, Ariz. (KOLD News 13) - An agent from the Border Patrol rescued two babies who had been abandoned in the desert west of Lukeville, Arizona, on Thursday, Aug. 25.

A group of migrants who had been arrested west of the Lukeville Port of Entry told an agent about the children, and the agent found them in the Organ Pipe National Monument. An 18-month-old was found crying and a 4-month-old was laying face-down and unresponsive.

The agent began First Aid and revived the younger child while waiting for Border Patrol and National Park Service Emergency Medical Technicians to arrive.

The EMTs transported the children to a waiting ambulance, and they were transported to the Abrazo West Hospital in Goodyear, Arizona.

“Yesterday smugglers left two young children - an infant and a toddler - in the Sonoran Desert to die,” said Tucson Sector Border Patrol Chief John Modlin. “This is not just another example of smugglers exploiting migrants for money. This is cruelty. And it is gut-wrenching. I commend our agents for their quick response to this dreadful incident and to every incident in which migrant lives are at stake.”

The children were eventually discharged back to Border Patrol custody.

The Office of Refugee Resettlement has been notified, and expedited placement has been requested.