PHOENIX -- When illegal immigrant Manuel Jesus Cordova Soberanes saw an injured boy alone in the middle of the southern Arizona desert, he couldn't help but think of his own children.

Cordova told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he felt compelled to stop and help, even though he was two days into his walk from Mexico into the United States and only 50 miles from reaching Tucson.

"I am a father of four children. For that, I stayed," Cordova said in Spanish from his home in Magdalena de Kino in the Mexican state of Sonora. "I never could have left him. Never."

Cordova stayed with the boy, 9-year-old Christopher Buztheitner, and very well may have saved his life, authorities said.

Christopher's mother had just died in a car accident and the boy had an injured leg and was dressed in shorts despite the desert cold. When Cordova found him, the boy held a side mirror from his mother's van and was with a dog that also survived the crash.

Language barriers prevented the two from speaking to one another, but Cordova said Christopher took him to the edge of a canyon and showed him the accident site.

Authorities said Christopher and his mother, 45-year-old Dawn Alice Tomko, had been in the area camping. Tomko was driving on a U.S. Forest Service road in a remote area north of the Mexican border on Thanksgiving Day when she lost control of her van on a curve. The van vaulted off a cliff and landed 300 feet from the road.

By the looks of the mangled van down below, Cordova said it was obvious there was nothing he could do to help the mother. He could only help the boy, whom Cordova said was distraught but did not cry.

"I felt frustrated and sad because I couldn't do anything for the mother," Cordova said. "And I didn't know how to console the boy, so I just sat next to him."

Cordova gave the boy the sweater he was wearing, and climbed down to the van and found chocolate and cookies to feed him.

He then built a bonfire, and the two hunkered down. The boy slept most of the night; Cordova kept watch over Christopher and tended the fire.

Fourteen hours later, a group of hunters found the pair and called for help. U.S. Border Patrol agents took Cordova into custody, and Christopher was flown to a hospital in Tucson.

Christopher was reunited with family over the weekend, and Cordova was taken back to Mexico. Christopher's family could not be reached for comment.

Survival in the Arizona desert is no small feat. It's the busiest illegal crossing point along the 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border, and every year hundreds of immigrants succumb to the elements there or to violence perpetrated by smugglers.

Santa Cruz County Sheriff Tony Estrada said Cordova is "very, very special and compassionate."

Adriana Hoyos Rodriguez, the mayor of Magdalena de Kino, said she's proud Cordova lives in her city and called him a hero. "He left everything to save that boy," she said.

A spokeswoman for the Mexican consulate in Nogales said the office is working to obtain a short-term visa for Cordova so he can come to Arizona and be recognized for his actions.

Cordova is a 26-year-old bricklayer who wanted to come to the United States to find work. Cordova said he has to earn money to feed his four children, who live with their mother, and help support his girlfriend's three children.

"I have two responsibilities," he said. "I have two families, many mouths to feed."

He said that even though his trip was thwarted, he's glad to be back home and wishes Christopher the best. "I hope he has a good life," he said.