A 71-year-old Crestline woman was beaten with a baseball bat inside her own home early Tuesday morning, and the man accused of attacking her, a 26-year-old Orange County resident who had reportedly been staying with her for about two weeks, is still on the run. San Bernardino County sheriff's deputies have not located suspect Erik Eduardo Navarro since the attack, which happened around 6 a.m. on Aug. 25 in the 23900 block of Straight Way.
According to the Victorville Daily Press, the victim had told Navarro to leave her home before he allegedly attacked her with the bat. She suffered a forehead laceration, a cut eyebrow, swollen hands and a swollen orbital area so severe that she was unable to clearly see her attacker's face during the assault, the paper reported, citing sheriff's officials. Deputies searched the area but did not find Navarro at the scene.
Sheriff's officials announced Navarro as the suspect on Aug. 27 and released his photo the same day in hopes of generating leads, per the Daily Press. Investigators are asking for the public's help identifying his whereabouts, and anyone with information is asked to call the Twin Peaks Sheriff's Station at (909) 336-0660. Tips can also be submitted anonymously through the We-Tip hotline at (844) 909-3096.
A Case Built on a Specific Charge
The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department is investigating the attack as a felony violation of California Penal Code Section 243(d), battery causing serious bodily injury, according to an official Sheriff's Department incident release. Under that statute, the offense is a wobbler that can be charged as a felony carrying up to four years in state prison and fines as high as $10,000, according to Eisner Gorin LLP. Detectives are also soliciting tips through the department's online CatapultEMS portal in addition to phone calls to Twin Peaks Station, per the Sheriff's Department release.
Given the victim's age, California Penal Code Section 368 remains an applicable statutory framework, though it has not been confirmed as a filed charge. That law, which covers physical abuse of an elder aged 65 or older committed with intent or criminal negligence, carries a penalty of up to four years in state prison, according to the Shouse Law Group. It remains unclear whether prosecutors will add elder abuse or additional charges once Navarro is located, and Navarro's exact relationship to the victim prior to his two-week stay has not been publicly detailed.
Elder Abuse Is Often Close to Home
The circumstances echo a pattern local officials have flagged before. San Bernardino County's Department of Aging and Adult Services reported in June 2025 that in roughly 90% of elder abuse cases with known perpetrators, the abuser is a family member or household associate. Countywide, residents can report suspected abuse through a 24-hour Adult Protective Services hotline. Statewide, California's Adult Protective Services system receives more than 15,000 reports of elder and dependent adult abuse per month, totaling over 202,000 cases a year, according to the California Association of Area Agencies on Aging.
A Small Station Covering a Big Mountain
The search is being run out of the Twin Peaks Sheriff's Station, which patrols more than 135 square miles of mountain terrain across Crestline, Lake Arrowhead and Running Springs with just 17 deputies and two detectives, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department. Crestline itself is a small, unincorporated mountain community, with an estimated population of 9,835 and a median age of 44.1 years as of 2024, per data cited by Point2Homes. Whether Navarro remains somewhere in the San Bernardino Mountains or has returned to Orange County is one of several open questions investigators have not addressed publicly.
The mountain station has handled a range of cases in recent years, from violent crime to narcotics enforcement. Hoodline previously reported that Twin Peaks deputies raided a Crestline drug den on the 23000 block of Scenic Drive in January 2024, arresting four residents on drug facility charges. That same tip program, We-Tip, offers complete anonymity and cash rewards of up to $1,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction in violent crime cases, a structure that has helped fuel past investigations in the area.
For now, Navarro remains at large, and deputies are continuing to press the public for any information on his location. The Sheriff's Department has not said whether additional charges are being considered beyond the battery investigation, and anyone with information is urged to come forward through either the Twin Peaks Station or the anonymous tip line.
