Three hunters who were lost and stranded during the weekend blizzard were rescued north of Malta by U.S. Border Patrol agents.
A news release from Customs & Border Protection says that the agents, from the Border Patrol station in Malta, were contacted by the Phillips County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) requesting assistance in finding three hunters who were stranded in a remote area after their vehicle became stuck during a blizzard.
PCSO dispatch reported that one of the people was an elderly man who would be unable to walk through the blizzard conditions. U.S. Border Patrol was equipped with a tracked utility terrain vehicle (UTV) capable of reaching the area in adverse conditions.
The agents traveled to the GPS coordinates, which were provided by the hunters through dispatch, in a UTV. The agents tried to free the hunter’s vehicle but were not successful. The area had experienced heavy during the storm and some drifts were more than four feet high. The agents took the hunters back to a safe location in Malta after many hours of slow travel.
“Agents are trained to perform their duties in strenuous weather conditions and are equipped with the resources to accomplish the mission. This situation could have ended tragically had it not been for the solid partnership between our agents and the Phillips County Sheriff’s Office,” said Deputy Chief Patrol Agent Scott Good. “I am proud of our agents and their rescue efforts in these harsh climates.”
