ESCONDIDO : 7 Migrants Held, Smugglers Escape
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Seven illegal migrants were captured Wednesday after Border Patrol agents unsuccessfully chased two smugglers in the Escondido area.
A search involving about 40 officers from four law enforcement agencies was called off about 9 a.m., after the two men fled on foot in the Lake Hodges area, said Border Patrol spokesman Steve Kean.
The chase began as two patrol agents who were parked on a hill on Ted Williams Parkway overlooking traffic on California 15 noticed several people lying on the rear seat and floor of a car driving north, Kean said.
During the pursuit which began about 7 a.m., patrol agents found that the car had been stolen Sunday, Kean said. The car left the highway on Via Rancho Parkway in Escondido, and stopped in the middle of the off-ramp, Kean said. The driver and a front-seat passenger fled on foot into a canyon southeast of Lake Hodges, Kean said.
A San Diego Police helicopter, Escondido police and a California Highway Patrol canine unit assisted in the search.
The seven migrants were being returned to Mexico by Border Patrol agents, Kean said.
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