Holdup Victim Shot, Survives 15 Hours in Grave-Like Hole

A 62-year-old Riverside County man who was shot by a robber and then concealed in a 4 1/2-foot-deep grave-like hole for 15 hours over the weekend was resting at home Sunday, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department said.

Charles Logan, who was rescued by a jogger Saturday, was treated at Riverside Community Hospital for a “through-and-through” gunshot wound and released, investigator Mark Lohman said.

The gunman--described as in his 30s and wearing military gear from “head to toe,” a ski mask and gloves, was still on the loose, authorities said.

Logan had returned to his Indian Hills home west of Riverside Friday afternoon to find one of his pit bulls shot and a man pointing a gun at him, authorities said. The gunman forced Logan inside the house, tied his hands, gagged him, took an undisclosed amount of cash and shot him in the back, the investigator said.

The robber took Logan to the semirural Canyon Crest area and threw him into a 4 1/2-foot-deep rectangular hole, then covered it with plywood, Lohman said. “It looked like if you were in a cemetery, standing over a grave,” the investigator said.

Logan managed to breathe in the hole by standing and pushing the plywood to let in some air. He also struggled inside the hole to remove his gag and called for help when he heard a passing jogger.