Two Central American migrants who escaped human smugglers holding them for ransom led U.S and Mexican authorities to a nearby stash house.

Agents assigned to the U.S. Border Patrol station in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, arrested a 17-year-old Guatemalan male walking in Sunland Park on January 10. The teenager claimed he and his father were being held in a stash house in Ciudad Juárez and were beaten by smugglers demanding payment for crossing them into the U.S., according to Mexican media reports.

The teen said he and his father attempted escape and became separated. The teen added that the smugglers were able to catch up and beat him, but later broke free to illegally cross into the United States. The teen did not know the whereabouts of his father and feared for his safety at the time.

At the time of his arrest, Border Patrol agents noticed that the teen had facial injuries and decided to investigate further.

A short time later, agents arrested an adult Guatemalan male approximately 1.5 miles from the scene of the teen’s apprehension. The distraught male shared a reciprocal story to the teen’s and similarly worried about his well-being. U.S. agents later reunited the two. Together, father and son were able to expand upon their descriptions of the stash house and its location in Mexico.

On January 15, Mexican police identified the stash house in colonia Rancho Anapra, but did not disclose the matter until Tuesday. Authorities found a migrant locked in the house with chains blocking the door from the outside. Investigators found numerous mattresses indicating the home was used to hold multiple people at a time before heading north.

“This incident demonstrates the dangers of illegally crossing the International Border, and the reality of human smuggling organizations’ disregard for the well-being of those attempting to reach the United States” said a spokesperson from U.S. Border Patrol.

Robert Arce is a retired Phoenix Police detective with extensive experience working Mexican organized crime and street gangs. Arce has worked in the Balkans, Iraq, Haiti, and recently completed a three-year assignment in Monterrey, Mexico, working out of the Consulate for the United States Department of State, International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Program, where he was the Regional Program Manager for Northeast Mexico (Coahuila, Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, Durango, San Luis Potosi, Zacatecas.)