Two people have been rescued in separate incidents after being stranded in remote areas of the desert in southern Arizona, authorities said.
The first incident took place on Saturday when Tucson Sector Border Patrol Search Trauma and Rescue (BORSTAR) agents, along with help from the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office, responded to a call from a hiker stranded near the Superstition Mountains, east of Phoenix, after they suffered a “potentially broken ankle and were unable to walk,” according to a statement from U.S. Customs and Border Protection on Monday.
“Aboard Pinal Air 1, the rescue team quickly located the injured hiker,” authorities said. “Due to challenging, mountainside terrain, to evaluate the hiker, a BORSTAR agent was lowered to the ground using the helicopter’s hoist. The hiker was then rescued via hoist and taken to a safe landing zone for further evaluation.”…