Three migrants suspected of illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in the Otay Mountain Wilderness Area died last week during a storm that brought heavy rains and near-freezing temperatures to the region, Border Patrol officials said.
A woman and two men died in separate incidents on March 14 in the East County mountains just north of the border, officials said. The next night, another man also suspected of being an undocumented immigrant was stranded due to an ankle injury, and an Army helicopter helped find him.
Border Patrol officials said the incidents last week highlight the risks associated with crossing the border illegally in extreme conditions and harsh terrains — whether it be from the dangers of dehydration and starvation to heat stroke and hypothermia.
“Our message for anyone who might attempt an illegal crossing into the U.S. is simple: Don’t do it,” said San Diego’s Acting Chief Patrol Agent Jeffrey Stalnaker. “The Otay Mountain wilderness is unpredictable and unforgiving.”
The first incident was reported around 6:30 p.m. when border agents received a rescue call from a woman near the Cuchama Truck Trail, south of state Route 94. When agents arrived, they found the caller, who was with a woman who had died.
“Subsequent interviews indicated both women illegally crossed into the U.S. approximately five miles west of the Tecate Port of Entry,” Border Patrol officials said in a news release Thursday.
Once the caller was medically cleared, she was taken to the Border Patrol station for processing. The San Diego County Sheriff’s Office took control of investigating the other woman’s death.
The second incident about an hour later was reported as a distress call in the Otay Mountain Wilderness Area when a group of three told Chula Vista dispatchers they were lost, suffering from hypothermia, lacked food and water, had labored breathing and low cellphone battery, officials said.
When agents arrived, they found a 16-year-old girl alive, but the two men with her had died. One of the men was later identified as her father, officials said.
The girl was taken to a hospital before being transported to a Border Patrol station for processing. Sheriff’s officials were also assigned to manage the investigation into the two men’s death.
On March 15, the man who called for help in the same rural area was assisted by an Army helicopter and Border Patrol agents before being driven out of the area.
The names and ages of the woman and two men who died were not immediately available.
At least 14 people have died while illegally crossing the border in the San Diego sector in the current fiscal year that began Oct. 1, according to Border Patrol. In fiscal 2024, 44 people died and another 39 died the previous year.
Last week’s storm brought about an inch of rain on average throughout San Diego County, National Weather Service meteorologists said. In the Otay Mesa area on Wednesday and Thursday, temperatures during the morning and evening hours were in the low to mid-40s.