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Special border team works missing migrant cases

Posted at 10:41 AM, Mar 14, 2016
and last updated 2016-03-14 17:43:55-04

The Tucson Sector Border Patrol has seen success with a team of agents to help locate and resolve missing person cases along the border.

This team coordinates with government and non-government agencies to help locate migrants who cross the border illegally.

They're a consistent point of contact so migrant reports can be dealt with quickly and effectively.

According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, when a migrant is in distress, they rarely call 911 or local officials for help and instead call family or friends for help. The families then ask agencies for help, which can cause help to take longer.

CBP suggests families contact foreign consulates to report missing migrants.

Since June 2015, the team has identified 94 medical legal cases in Pima and Maricopa counties and helped process, identify and repatriate remains by foreign consulates.

Forty-six missing person reports have been taken on by the team with 18 resolved so far.

CBP says the team supports humanitarian efforts and assists with other Border Patrol operations.