By Tim Steller
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested a Mexican soldier who strayed north of the border Monday afternoon but released him back to the Mexican army on Tuesday.
The soldier "had become separated from his unit, became lost, and wandered into the United States in a very remote area west of Nogales," Border Patrol spokesman Frank Amarillas said in a prepared statement.
The soldier was armed and made it more than a mile across the border, in a place about seven miles west of Nogales, U.S. and Mexican officials said.
When the agents saw him about 4:50 p.m. Monday, the soldier offered no resistance to the agents and said he needed help, Amarillas said.
The agents took him to the Nogales station, where he was questioned by officials of the Border Patrol and the Mexican Consulate in Nogales, Ariz.
"It was decided after discussions between U.S. and Mexican government officials that the soldier would be granted a voluntary return to Mexico," Amarillas said.
Mexican Consul Carlos Gonzalez Magallon acknowledged that such border incursions are delicate and dangerous incidents, but said this crossing was an innocent mistake.
"We are working very hard, in close cooperation with the Border Patrol and military garrison in Nogales, to avoid this type of incident as much as possible," Gonzalez Magallon said.
The Border Patrol did not comment on what happened to the soldier's firearm.
* Contact reporter Tim Steller at 434-4086 or at steller@azstarnet.com.