See also 2007 CBP Report on Border Violence

Agent's fatal fall in wild, rugged area

DULZURA -- A Border Patrol agent who fell to his death Saturday afternoon was working in an area so rugged that rescuers searched three hours before finding his body.

Stephen Starch, 25, was tracking a group of suspected illegal immigrants west of Tecate Peak when he tumbled down a deep ravine around 3:30 p.m., officials said.

Fellow agents launched an air and ground search after they lost radio
contact with Starch.

But despite help by helicopters from the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Customs Service, it wasn't until 6:30 p.m. that his body was found -- at the bottom of a ravine near Cottonwood Creek, south of state Route 94.

"It's so rugged and wild out there, it still took three hours to find him," said Border Patrol spokesman Robert Gilbert.

Waves of illegal immigrants are being pushed into the treacherous terrain of rural East County by Operation Gatekeeper, the Clinton administration effort to clamp down on traditional urban border crossing spots.

Starch had been patrolling an area west of Tecate Peak near the backcountry community of Dulzura with a partner when the two split up to cover more ground, Gilbert said.

"He wasn't in pursuit of anyone at the time. As it appears, he was simply tracking a group," he said.

Starch, who was assigned to the El Cajon station, died of severe chest injuries, officials said. He had served as a Border Patrol agent for nearly two years.

Starch was recently married and is survived by his wife, Gilbert added.

"We felt a giant loss today. Not just us, but the entire law enforcement
community," he said. "This wasn't just a man who wore a gun and a badge. He was a family man, a member of the community."

The Sheriff's Department and Border Patrol are investigating the incident. It follows the March 1995 death of Border Patrol Agent Luis Santiago, who tumbled about 100 feet down a rocky hillside at night while chasing a group of suspected illegal border crossers near Otay Lakes.

Nine months ago, a Border Patrol agent suffered a fractured vertebra and a broken wrist when he fell about 40 feet down an embankment along state Route 94 north of Tecate.

The accident occurred about 2:30 a.m. while the agent tracked illegal immigrants.
 

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