Surfer's Baja tale is warning to others


Camping trip ended in robbery, assault
By Terry Rodgers
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

November 19, 2007

Pat Weber didn't plan on being part of a crime trend that has generated worldwide buzz this past week, but he didn't have much choice.
The Encinitas resident and surfing instructor got lost on a dirt road in Baja California last month while looking for a surfing spot called Cuatro Casas. He and his girlfriend decided to park for the night on a bluff overlooking the ocean.




CHARLIE NEUMAN / Union-Tribune
Pat Weber, who survived an assault while camping in Baja California, carried his board near his surfing school, the San Diego Surfing Academy.
Just after sundown, two men wearing ski masks approached Weber's motor home and ordered him to come out. He refused but surrendered after they fired a bullet through a window.
The assailants held a gun to Weber's head while they ransacked the motor home and took about $10,000 worth of items. They also sexually assaulted his girlfriend, Weber said.

It is the policy of The San Diego Union-Tribune not to identify victims of sexual crimes.

The Oct. 23 attack was one of at least six armed robberies and carjackings in the past five months that targeted surfers en route to camping spots in northern Baja. Some of the victims reported their experiences to the police, while others posted their stories on surfing and travel Web sites.

The Union-Tribune published details of the crimes Wednesday. Since then, blogs and TV and radio stations based everywhere from Southern California to Australia have covered the topic.

They have featured tourists who never encountered trouble in Baja and those who stopped visiting the peninsula's remote, picturesque beaches because of crimes that happened 10 or 20 years ago. A few included safety tips ahead of the Thanksgiving vacation stretch.

On Friday, a crew from CNN came to town to produce a segment about what Weber and his girlfriend went through.

“I'm not asking for sympathy,â€