Two Santa Barbara Men Missing near Mojave Desert
Chris Rice and Dan Carbonaro Not Seen Since 2:30 a.m. Sunday Morning
Friends and family of two Santa Barbara men gone missing are organizing an all-hands-on-deck search in the desert area near the border of San Bernardino and Kern counties. Chris Rice, 29, and Dan Carbonaro, 27, have not been seen since 2:30 a.m. on Sunday morning, when they left a motel in Randsburg in a white all-terrain vehicle en route to Cuddeback Dry Lake in San Bernardino County. Authorities began searching around 10:30 a.m. that day after they were dispatched to the Randsburg area with a report the two men were missing.
Rice is described as a six-foot-tall, 185-pound white male, with blond wavy hair and blue eyes. He was last wearing a gray sweatshirt and blue jeans. Carbonaro, is 6 feet 2 inches tall, 185 pounds, with black hair and hazel eyes. He was last seen wearing a black “Fox” windbreaker and dark jeans.
Authorities — including the Kern County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Team and the Indian Wells Mine Rescue Team — searched the area for 12 hours before calling it off for the night because of safety risks. Rough terrain and numerous open mine shafts in the area halted the search until 6:30 a.m. the next day. Air units have also been utilized as the search continues into its fourth day. Temperatures in the area have gotten down into the 20s at night, with highs during the day in the 50s.
Meanwhile, friends and family have activated a search fund at Santa Barbara Bank & Trust, with the donations going to hotels and supplies for the people engaged in the search. Anyone looking to help can email jonathan@constructionSB.com. Anyone with information can call the Kern County Sheriff’s Office at (661) 861-3110.
