TUCSON, Ariz. – An 18-year-old woman who gave birth in the desert used nail clippers to cut her baby girl's umbilical cord before being rescued by U.S. Border Patrol agents, authorities said Wednesday.
The woman was spotted Monday night by a Border Patrol helicopter pilot about 25 miles north of the border, said Ron Bellavia, commander of the agency's search, trauma and rescue operations in the Tucson sector.
The woman, believed to be an illegal immigrant, was with two other people, and all appeared in distress, agents said. Her nationality was not immediately known.
She was taken by helicopter to University Medical Center in Tucson, Bellavia said. Her daughter was carried on a four-wheel-drive vehicle about five miles to a road, where an ambulance transported her the hospital.
A hospital spokeswoman said mother and daughter were in good condition Wednesday.
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