After a night of 20-degree weather, 15 Guatemalan nationals who had entered the country illegally were found outside Marfa, suffering from various states of hypothermia, according to Border Patrol officials. One of them died from the extreme conditions.
On the morning of December 8, officials say agents were on patrol outside Marfa when they came across the Guatemalans' trail in the snow.
The members of group were found in "various states of distress and hypothermia," according to a press release. After having their vitals evaluated, those in critical condition were flown down from the mountain they had been traversing. Others, who weren't in as critical of a condition, were driven down by agents.
At the bottom of the mountain, local EMTs took the group to the Big Bend Regional Medical Center in Alpine for treatment. Officials say one of the more critical patients went into cardiac arrest during the transportation. They were taken to a trauma center for additional care.
The Border Patrol says the group had been walking through the desert for a week.
