Marines and Morongo Basin Sheriff’s deputies helped rescue an Arizona woman Wednesday who had been missing in the desert for at least a day. According to a Sheriff’s report, Johnnie Savage, 57, left her home in Chloride about 1:30 p.m. Monday, to go rock hunting near Ludlow. When she did not return, she was reported missing about 4 p.m. Wednesday. About the same time, deputies received a 911 call from the Savage, who said she thought she was on military property. She gave deputies her GPS coordinates, which indicated she was near Bagdad Dry Lake. She also told them her silver Jeep was stuck and she was out of water; deputies believed she may have been disoriented and hallucinating. Her GPS coordinates showed that Savage was inside the boundaries of the Twentynine Palms Marine Base in a restricted fly zone, which prevented the Sheriff’s helicopter from entering the area to search for her. Marines from the base search and rescue unit flew in to look for Savage, and when they found her shortly before 7 p.m., they dropped water down to her. The Sheriff’s helicopter was then given permission to enter the base to rescue Savage. The Sheriff’s aviation deputies determined that Savage, who had a head wound, needed an immediate medical evaluation, and she was flown to paramedics waiting outside the base boundaries. She was then taken to Hi-Desert Medical Center where she was treated for non-life-threatening medical conditions.
