Border patrol finds lost hiker at Big Bend after 16-hour search

The woman was found after a 16-hour coordinated search Border Patrol Search, Trauma, and Rescue (BORSTAR), National Park Service (NPS), the Department of Public Safety, and Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations, according to a news release.

The NPS received reports late in the afternoon on Monday, September 27 that the woman was “overdue,” or had not returned from the park as planned. Spokespersons with NPS and Customers and Border Potection (CBP) didn’t say who reported the woman as missing.

NPS held a quick search that Monday, but couldn’t find the woman before dark. NPS didn’t immediately search overnight because of “favorable weather conditions” and the hiker’s “experience level.”

Instead Border Patrol K9 units, CBP helicopters and mobile technology were deployed later that night at the Chisos Basin, where the hiker was last seen.

After more than 16 hours of searching, Border Patrol horse units found the hikers footprints, which led them to Juniper Canyon. It was there an agent heard faint screaming and found the hiker responsive without serious injury.

In June, a 59-year-old man died from an apparent heat-related illness while hiking in Big Bend.

“In all these instances we put forward maximum effort and deploy the right amount of resources to effect positive outcomes,” says CBP spokesperson Gregory Davis in an email.

Davis did not release the name or age of the hiker at this time.