A drug smuggler left more than a load of marijuana when he abandoned his vehicle in the desert near Las Cruces.
U.S. Border Patrol agents say he also left a woman and a small child.
Agents at the Interstate 15 traffic checkpoint stopped a vehicle for inspection early Tuesday.
The driver refused to follow agents' instructions and fled the checkpoint at a high rate of speed.
Agents attempted to pursue the vehicle, but lost sight of the tail lights as the vehicle headed off road.
They later found the vehicle perched on the ledge of an arroyo.
The driver had left behind the woman and child along with 215 pounds of marijuana in several bundles in the vehicle's luggage area.
Authorities say the marijuana has an estimated value of $172,000.
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