The woman was crossing the southern border with others before becoming injured and needing assistance.
U.S. Army National Guard photo.
FORT HUACHUCA, Arizona – A California Army National Guard UH-72 Lakota helicopter aircrew conducted the rescue of an injured woman in Montana Peak.
The UH-72 Lakota helicopter, belonging to Task Force Sentinel, took off from Tucson International Airport for a routine mission. The UH-72A Lakota aircrew consisted of Cal Guard soldiers and a Border Patrol Agent. October 2025.
The mission originally began as an air support request in response to a report of six Indocumented migrants moving on foot in the Nogales Area of Responsibility. En route to the site to provide overhead support to on-ground Border Patrol Agents (BPAs), the UH-72 Lakota helicopter aircrew approached Montana Peak, an area known for its isolated and uneven terrain.
The on-ground BPAs were able to apprehend two of the subjects, while the other suspecteds went undetected. The search continued as the UH-72A aircrew used their eyesight and a infra-red camera equipped in the Lakota to spot the rest of the group.
“The area we were working in is near Montana Peak in the Ruby area, which is rough, unforgiving terrain that is very steep and not near any roads or other civilization,” said the UH-72A Lakota helicopter pilot in command. “This makes it challenging for agents on ground to work and traverse the area, and equally as tough for the group of indocumented migrants on the ground to traverse.”
According to accounts, the mission was still routine air search at the time, but as the mission progressed toward the North side of Montana Peak a female migrant was detected. The woman appeared to be severely injured, could barely stand and looked as if to be saying “help me, help me”. The closest agents, except the the UH-72 Lakota aircrew, were over 40 minutes away on foot.
Upon this, the California Army National Guard UH-72A Lakota aircrew decided that the BPA onboard, who is EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) qualified, would be dropped off to gain a better understanding of the situation. Understanding the difficult terrain in this area, the helicopter pilots opted to perform a partial landing, to allow the BPA to offload the UH-72 without compromising the aircraft. The BPA was able to immediately assesses the woman. She was dehydrated, malnourished and having discoloration to
the right ankle and calf.
With all factors considered it was determined that the woman required immediate higher-level medical care and this routine mission quickly turned into a life-saving casualty evacuation (CASEVAC) mission.
The California National Guard UH-72 Lakota pilots successfully located a suitable landing site for the aircraft, allowing the aircrew chief to assist with the rescue of the injured woman. Due to the lack of a litter and the rocky terrain, the BPA and aircrew chief carried the woman back to the UH-72A Lakota helicopter. The injured woman was transported to Holy Cross Medical Center in Nogales to receive immediate
medical attention.
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