Jesus Manuel Cordova was trying to enter the U.S. illegally.  He ended up saving a 9-year-old boy.  The Santa Cruz County Sheriff says the 26-year-old was crossing the Arizona-Mexico border when he spotted the child. The boy’s mother had crashed their van, and dazed but unhurt the boy crawled out to search for help. 

Sheriff Tony Estrada said the woman, from Rimrock, north of Phoenix, was driving on a remote U.S. Forest Service road north of the Mexican border Thanksgiving when the van went out of control, vaulted into a canyon and crashed about 300 feet from the road.

The pair tried, but were unable to free the woman, who was still alive at the time, Estrada said.  After their efforts to rescue the mother failed, Cordova and the boy walked toward the road to find help, Estrada said.  They went back up the road to look for help but it got dark and cold. Cordova consoled the boy, gave him a jacket, built a bonfire and stayed with him overnight. 

A group of hunters came by about 8 a.m. Friday, and Cordova and the boy told them what had happened, Estrada said. The hunters called for help and the Border Patrol was the first to arrive, he said. 

Cordova turned himself in to agents when they arrived, said Richard DeWitt, Border Patrol Tucson Sector spokesman. He probably made a conscious decision to help the boy and not worry about getting apprehended, he said. "It shows a high degree of humanity from that guy to stay with that kid because that’s out in the middle on nowhere," DeWitt said.  Estrada agreed: "These people take a knock from a lot of people and yet they are willing to sacrifice getting caught to help a kid," Estrada said.

Both called the events an incredible story. "It’s pretty amazing that this guy out there in the middle of nowhere comes upon this kid," DeWitt said. His actions probably saved the boy’s life, Estrada said.

Estrada said the boy’s father had died two months earlier. "It’s very tragic not only for that but because it was Thanksgiving Day," Estrada said.

Border Patrol agents could not answer questions Friday about whether illegal immigrants acting as good Samaritans receive any special treatment.  In this case, we hope so.

Technorati Tags: illegal immigrant, border patrol, Santa Cruz County, boy rescued, Arizona

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