It is one thing killing your old lady or the old man, but here at Cactus Thorns we draw the line at killing the family dog too. 

Big Bear City, CA– On Saturday, September 15, 2012 at 6:15 a.m. deputies responded to Meadow Park in reference to a man yelling in the park. Deputies made contact with 56 year old Ronald Hitchcock as he was trying to get out of the park but the gate was locked. Deputies noticed that Hitchcock was wet and he told them his vehicle went into the lake. Two of the deputies on scene are Dive Team responders and immediately went to the lake to search for the vehicle. They located the vehicle submerged in the lake with an adult female and a dog inside. The female and the dog were pronounced dead at the scene.

Deborah Crouch, 53 of Big Bear City, was found deceased when her car was pulled from Big Bear Lake in the 14000 block of Park Avenue, Big Bear Lake.

Sheriff’s Homicide Investigators were requested to conduct the investigation. The investigation is ongoing and no additional information is available at this time.

Hitchcock was ultimately arrested and booked at West Valley Detention Center for PC187 Murder.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Detective Dan Rodriguez of the Homicide Detail(909) 387-3589 or Sheriff’s dispatch at (760) 245-4211. Callers wishing to remain anonymous may contact the We-Tip Hotline at 1-800-78-CRIME (27463) or leave information on the We-Tip website at www.wetip.com.