Deputies search for stranded woman

With temperatures headed into the 30s, law enforcement officials continued searching the desert Wednesday evening for a woman who called 911, claiming to have been abducted and then abandoned in a remote area.

“We began to get calls at about 4:30 (Wednesday) morning from the woman stating she had been abducted from a gas station on Central (Road) in Apple Valley,” said Officer William Osegueda, spokesman for the California Highway Patrol. “We are taking this very seriously and we do not believe it is a hoax.”

The woman is believed to be in the open desert between Lucerne Valley and Joshua Tree.

CHP and San Bernardino County Sheriff’s aircraft and ground units have been searching the area where officials believe she may be.

“Her cell phone signal keeps bouncing off of two towers putting her either in Lucerne (Valley) or Joshua (Tree), or somewhere in between,” Osegueda said.

The woman told officials she thought she was being pulled over by police sometime between late Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning and the next thing she knew, she was hit in the head, Osegueda said.

The woman is wearing a gray shirt and pants but no shoes. She reported she was near unmarked dirt roads, a pile of rock and near mountains.

Officials kept receiving calls from the same woman in the same area throughout the day Wednesday.

Beatriz E. Valenzuela may be reached at 951-6276 or at BValenzuela@VVDailyPress.com.

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