The State - News from July 1, 1988

A film crew shooting a sequel to the Chevy Chase comedy “Fletch” found the body of a man who had gone walking in the Mojave Desert looking for rattlesnakes, authorities said. The man was identified as Frederick A. Wentworth, 28, of California City, Kern County sheriff’s deputies said. Wentworth had gone into the desert Tuesday after he and a companion, Tami Kubias, 23, of California City allegedly burglarized a Mojave Utility District pump station, Dixon said. Kubias told deputies that the dead man’s car became stuck in the sand and she remained behind while Wentworth ventured east to look for Mojave greens, the deadliest of all rattlesnakes. Homicide investigators ruled the death accidental. The county coroner’s office was conducting a toxicology test. Kubias was arrested for investigation of possessing drug paraphernalia, being under the influence of drugs and receiving stolen property, deputies said.