California IN BRIEF : TWENTYNINE PALMS : Students Find Skull of Marine

The skull of a Marine who was inadvertently left in the desert after night maneuvers in 1988 was found about 3 miles from where his other remains were recovered more than a year ago, officials said. Geology students came across the skull Jan. 6 during a dig near National Trails Highway outside the grounds of the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, about 180 miles east of Los Angeles, a Marine Corps spokesman said. Dental records confirmed the skull was that of Lance Cpl. Jason Rother, 19, of Minneapolis, who was posted as a road guide during maneuvers on the sprawling base Aug. 30 1988, the Marine Corps said.