THREE FOREIGN TOURISTS RESCUED NEAR A MARINE BASE LIVE-FIRE RANGE

Three Spanish tourists were stuck in the sand for hours Monday afternoon near the live fire range of the Twentynine Palms Combat Center. Just before 1 p.m., a Spanish-speaking man called to report that he and two companions were stuck in the sand in their silver Hyundai Sonata on board the Marine base and they only had one bottle of water for the three of them. He said they were traveling from Joshua Tree National Park to Barstow when the car’s tires got buried in the sand near Emerson Lake in the Quackenbush live fire area. He said they’d been stuck for a few hours before calling for help. A Sheriff’s deputy located them about 2:30 p.m. and gave them a ride in the patrol car to Hero’s Market in Landers. The deputy called the Marine base for assistance, but the provost marshal’s office said they weren’t on the base, even though the deputy said they passed “No Trespassing” signs. A tow truck was called to tow the car out.