drive vehicle (if illegally), a passenger van was totally inappropriate and couldn’t be expected to get far in that canyon. Yet there it was.

Upon landing nearby, Brenner inspected the vehicle. It was a green, 1996 Plymouth Voyager van with California license plates. It was covered with considerable dust, as if it had been out there for some time. The van was clearly stuck in the wash, sunk up to its axles in the sand, with its two rear tires flattened and its left front tire also flat. Tracks left in the sand by the van suggested it had been driven at least 200’ with flat rear tires. The van was locked, with no sign of the owner. Brenner noted the license number and reported it back to theDVNP headquarters.

A quick check on the license plate with the California Highway Patrol (CHP) revealed the vehicle was reported stolen by the Los Angeles Police Department on September 10, 1996. The vehicle, owned by Dollar Rent a Car, had been rented to a group of four German tourists in Los Angeles on July 8, 1996. The vehicle had been due back to the rental agency in Los Angeles on July 26, but had never been returned. It was the rental agency’s policy to wait at least 30 days past when a vehicle was due to report it stolen.

Checking the names of the renters turned up an August 14th INTERPOL alert on them. They were Egbert Rimkus, 34, his son Georg Weber, 11, Egbert’s girlfriend Cornelia Meyer, 28, and