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Death in the Desert
Tucson Sector:
Recovered Human Remains

Year-to-date total:  96
Last Year:              148
This Year
JUN 2020:  14
​MAY 2020:  11
APR 2020:  12  
MAR 2020: 14
FEB 2020:  24
JAN 2020:  21 
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Death Maps
We use these to identify where to focus our efforts/ where to leave water and food.

Humane Borders map of deaths
You can search this up-to-date map by region, year, gender, name, etc.
For example, you can search for all human remains recovered in 2020, or you can fine-tune it to a specific area.

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NEXT Volunteer Training Sessions
See announcement of Zoom training, second session on July 12th at 1:30 p.m.

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Donate supplies: 
Gallon water jugs, socks, food packs, first aid items, gasoline for desert trips, car repairs, all-terrain tires

UPDATED (6-15-2020) : 
Tucson Samaritans Meetings
NO Tuesday night Meetings at Southside Presbyterian during March, April, May and June 2020. 
Virtual meetings for members only.

Green Valley Samaritans

www.gvs-samaritans.org For information about Green Valley Samaritans.

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Announcing virtual Samaritan training series: Session #2 on July 12th at 1:30 on Zoom

​To register for the series, sign up here, and you will be sent a Zoom invitation closer to the date. Sessions will last about an hour or so, with two presentations, each of which will be about a half hour, followed by questions and discussion. There will be three training sessions on consecutive Sundays. 

We ask new volunteers to attend Samaritan Training before signing up for Samaritan trips to the desert. Veteran Samaritans who want to refresh their skills can also attend. There are several things a volunteer needs to know before they can safely go on our trips. These include:
--background of humanitarian aid groups and history of migration and the borderlands
--protocols for interacting with the Border Patrol and law enforcement
--medical conditions you may encounter and desert first aid
--Samaritan Desert Trips: where, what & how
--safely traveling in the desert, including use of GPS devices, maps, and SPOT satellite communicators

Prior to COVID-19 Samaritans did monthly training sessions, but because of the need for social distancing we suspended this program. Now, we are resuming the training, but in virtual form, using Zoom software, like many other organizations are doing.

Our secod training session on July 12th will have two presentations:

 One about legal aspects of our work;
and one about first aid issues while doing our work.

Hope to see you there!

Recovered Human Remains  May 2020

This map is derived from Humane Borders in partnership with the Pima County Medical Examiners Office. Each red circle represents a recovered human remain.

June 2020
Here is a summary of the past month's changes. It includes reporting from Maricopa County as well as Pima.

Recently found individuals grouped by PMI (Post Mortem Interval):
        3 dead less than a day
        4 dead less than 5 weeks
        1 dead less than 6-8 months
        5 dead more than 6-8 months
        1 not yet determined
        1 from Maricopa (PMI not supplied, but probably less than 3 weeks)
Total:  15 (Note: 1 death reported in June was from May. The attached statistics show 14 for June and raise May's total from last month by one.)

Updates for other individuals:
        6 identified by name
        6 identified by  DNA as part of another set of remains and removed from database

Total deaths currently recorded in our database: 3,270

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