PHOENIX – Three Mexican immigrants died in Arizona’s Sonoran Desert near the U.S.-Mexico border as high temperatures reach triple digits in parts of the Southwest.
The United States Border Patrol reported that the bodies of two men, ages 44 and 18, and a 17-year-old girl were found in the desert early Wednesday in an area called Sheep Mountain, which is located in southwestern Arizona. on the Barry M. Goldwater Range Highway, a remote military training area near the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge.
A rescue station was activated for the migrants to call for help, triggering a ground and air search. Another member of the group of four was found alive. The bodies were taken to the Pima County Medical Examiner’s Office for autopsies. The Mexican Consulate was notified.
High temperatures this week in desert areas of southern Arizona and Phoenix have averaged 110 to 115 degrees Fahrenheit (43 to 46 C) as the region swelters under an excessive heat warning that extends into the Lower Colorado Valley and southeastern California.
“The terrain along the border is extreme, the unrelenting summer heat is severe and the remote areas where smugglers bring migrants are unforgiving,” said Border Patrol Deputy Chief Agent Justin De La Torre of the Tucson Sector. CBP. “The decision to put their lives in the hands of criminal organizations has died from dehydration and heat stroke.”
In Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix, six heat-related deaths have been reported so far this year. Another 111 deaths are being investigated for possible heat-related causes. In Pima County, the medical examiner’s office reports that eight heat-related deaths have been confirmed so far this year in that county and several small rural counties it manages.
Maricopa County public health officials confirm there were a staggering 645 heat-related deaths last year in the jurisdiction of about 4.5 million people, more than 50% more than in 2022 and another consecutive annual record. in the arid Phoenix metropolitan area.
