WATCH: Nighttime Helicopter Rescue of Hiker in Freezing Arizona Mountains near Border

A CBP Air and Marine Operations helicopter aircrew rescued a hiker from freezing conditions in a mountainous region near the Arizona border with Mexico. The man suffered frostbite and hypothermia.

Officials with the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office received information that a hiker who became stranded fell into distress in the Huachuca Mountains during the night of January 26, according to information received from Air and Marine Operations (AMO) officials. The sheriff’s office notified U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials who dispatched a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter aircrew to begin a search and rescue operation.

Sheriff’s office deputies on the ground guided the AMO aircrew to the location. In the darkness of night, the crew lowered an AMThe O Aviation Enforcement agent EMT to the ground 150 feet below.

The EMT agent conducted an assessment of the barefoot hiker and then the aircrew hoisted the victim back to the hovering helicopter. Agents determined the man to be suffering from exposure to freezing conditions, hypothermia, and possible frostbite.

The aircrew flew the man to Montezuma Pass where the sheriff’s office search and rescue medical team began warming the man. The aircrew returned to the original scene and extracted the sheriff’s office search team and returned them to their vehicles.

The aircrew then returned to the victim’s location and transported the hiker to the Canyon Vista Medical Center for further treatment. Officials identified the hiker as a U.S. citizen.

“This is a mission that our aircrews train for every day,” Deputy Director, Tucson Air Branch, Hunter Robinson said in a written statement. “It’s not just about securing the border. It’s about working with the other members of the communities in which we live to keep them safe and get the job done.”

Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior news contributor for the Breitbart Texas-Border team. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s Sunday-morning talk show, What’s Your Point? Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX, Parler @BobPrice, and Facebook.