Bodies of Woman and Two Sons Found After Search in Desert

The bodies of a missing Barstow woman and her two young sons were discovered Saturday in a desert wash. Authorities said they may have died of exposure.

San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputies piloting a helicopter Saturday morning spotted the bodies of Penny Lopez, 26, and her 3-month-old son, Jeremy, about 10 miles from where the missing woman’s abandoned car was found Wednesday and about 35 miles from Barstow.

More than 30 searchers continued scouring the remote terrain northeast of Barstow on the chance that 4-year-old Christopher Lopez might have survived, but later found his body face down in a wash about one mile south of where the two other bodies were discovered.

Authorities ruled out foul play as the cause of death, and said they were perplexed over the woman’s decision to head into the desert on foot after her car became stuck in the sand. She left home with her two children April 13, after arguing with her husband.

‘We’re at a Loss’

“There’s no way of knowing where they were heading,” Sgt. Dennis Casey said. “We’re at a loss for her rationale.”

The bodies had been in the wash for “some time,” Deputy Tony Valencia said.

Members of Lopez’s family were informed of the discovery but advised not to go to the scene because of the condition of the bodies, deputies said. The coroner identified the bodies independently.

Asked for a cause of death, a spokesman suggested exposure. “It’s a very hostile environment,” Casey said.

Although she was heading in the general direction of the Ft. Irwin Army base, Lopez was still 10 miles short of the boundary. The closest natural feature in her path was the dry Coyote Lake, which would have been no haven. “There’s nothing out there,” Valencia said.

Lopez’s brown Honda was found Wednesday stuck in soft sand off Minneola Road, nine miles north of Interstate 15.