• Border Patrol officials said they found an infant and a toddler who had been abandoned by smugglers.
  • They made the discovery after a group of migrants were arrested near Lukeville, Arizona on Thursday.
  • The children received medical attention and were released to Border Patrol custody, local reports said.

US Border Patrol officials said they found an infant and a toddler who were apparently abandoned by smugglers in the Arizona desert. 

Agents made the discovery after a group of people were arrested crossing the border near Lukeville, Arizona on Thursday, and one of the migrants alerted agents to the children's location, CBS News reported. 

The 18-month-old toddler was found crying, and the 4-month-old infant was found unresponsive and face down, the outlet reported. Both children were released into Border Patrol custody after they were taken to a hospital. 

Tucson Sector Border Patrol Chief John Modlin said the children had been left for dead by smugglers near the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.

"Yesterday smugglers left two young children — an infant and a toddler — in the Sonoran Desert to die," Modlin said in a statement, per CBS. "This is not just another example of smugglers exploiting migrants for money. This is cruelty."

 

In a tweet, Modlin said agents on the scene revived the unresponsive infant, calling the entire ordeal "gut-wrenching."

"Thankfully, we were able to revive her and avert tragedy. The heartlessness of smugglers cannot be underestimated," Modlin said in a tweet. 

No other details about the children were released, per CBS.

Temperatures near Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument reached 95 degrees Fahrenheit on Thursday, according to archives from the National Weather Service. 

In June, some 53 migrants were found dead in an abandoned semi-truck in San Antonio, Texas.

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