- Border Patrol officials said they found an infant and a toddler who had been abandoned by smugglers.
- They made the discovery after a group of migrants were arrested near Lukeville, Arizona on Thursday.
US Border Patrol officials said they found an infant and a toddler who were apparently abandoned by smugglers in the Arizona desert.
Agents made the discovery after a group of people were arrested crossing the border near Lukeville, Arizona on Thursday, and one of the migrants alerted agents to the children's location, $4 reported.
The 18-month-old toddler was found crying, and the 4-month-old infant was found unresponsive and face down, the outlet reported. Both children were released into Border Patrol custody after they were taken to a hospital.
Tucson Sector Border Patrol Chief John Modlin said the children had been left for dead by smugglers near the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.
"Yesterday smugglers left two young children — an infant and a toddler — in the Sonoran Desert to die," Modlin said in a statement, per CBS. "This is not just another example of smugglers exploiting migrants for money. This is cruelty."
—John R. Modlin (@USBPChiefTCA) $4
In a tweet, Modlin said agents on the scene revived the unresponsive infant, calling the entire ordeal "gut-wrenching."
"Thankfully, we were able to revive her and avert tragedy. The heartlessness of smugglers cannot be underestimated," Modlin said in a $4.
No other details about the children were released, per CBS.
Temperatures near Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument reached 95 degrees Fahrenheit on Thursday, according to archives from the $4.
In June, some $4 in an abandoned semi-truck in San Antonio, Texas.