July 1, 2021- 5:05 p.m.
A woman from Mexico fleeing U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents in the Arizona desert plunged off a rockface to her death in early June, officials say.
The agents were investigating a sighting of a group of migrants on a Border Patrol camera southeast of Arivaca on June 7 when one agent encountered the group on a hill with “multiple descending rockfaces separated by steep terrain,” a press release said.
The agent detained one migrant while the others fled, then later found two women had fallen 40 feet off a rockface, injuring one and killing the other, the release said. A helicopter took the injured woman to the hospital, where she was treated and later released.
The Pima County Sheriff’s Department and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Professional Responsibility are reviewing the incident, according to the release.
The release of the information was delayed because the incident was initially deemed not to be a death in custody, which was later changed.
