A cyclist encountered a life-threatening situation during a ride in the remote mountains of Boulevard, California. The San Diego Sheriff's Office reached out to the U.S. Border Patrol for assistance on Friday around 12:30 p.m. for a grievously injured cyclist in East San Diego County's backcountry.

The cyclist had called dispatchers to report his condition, prompting Border Patrol agents to request an Air and Marine Operations (AMO) helicopter for a search and rescue mission. The agents located him five and a half miles northeast of Boulevard, a challenging area for rescue operations. U.S. Border Patrol San Diego Sector Chief Patrol Agent Patricia D. McGurk-Daniel emphasized the readiness to respond in her statement, "Our agents are trained and ready to answer the call for help, no matter the situation."

An AMO pilot located a clearing near Interstate 8 for a rendezvous point, where two Border Patrol agents were to be picked up by the helicopter to proceed with the mission. They found a landing spot three-quarters of a mile from the injured man's location. The agents, joined by an AMO support pilot who was also an emergency medical technician, successfully reached and stabilized the cyclist.

By 3:00 p.m., the San Diego Sheriff's Office Copter 10 arrived with Cal Fire rescue paramedics to carry out the extraction. The team carefully hoisted the man and delivered him to medical care at 3:15 p.m. Reflecting on the teamwork, Director of San Diego Air and Marine Operations Brandon Tucker said, "We are thankful for our partners at the San Diego Sheriff's Office and Cal Fire who provided additional resources to help rescue this man and get him to safety."

This incident highlights the efficiency and cooperation of agencies like CBP’s U.S. Border Patrol, AMO, the San Diego Sheriff’s Office, and Cal Fire in emergency response scenarios. The swift action of these teams ensured that a potentially tragic situation had a positive outcome. The official CBP report on the rescue can be found here.