I am telling you, if you are traveling and don’t have access to a mobile phone, then you might just be taking an unnecessary gamble.

A group of stranded illegal immigrants facing death in the parched Arizona desert saved themselves by using a cell phone they found to call rescue services, the U.S. Border Patrol said on Thursday.

The group got lost in the desert near Arivaca, south of Tucson, Arizona, on Wednesday after their guide abandoned them during a four-day trek across the border from Mexico.

Lost and low on water, they used a cell phone they found in their guide’s bag to dial 911. Rescuers dispatched helicopters and located the group in the desert shortly after sunset. [Read the rest]