Local & Community
Marine base releases first details in death of Lance Cpl. Riley Allstatt as local horse sanctuary steps in to help his widow
The Marine Corps is releasing its first details about the death of a young Marine at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, though what caused his death still has not been confirmed.
Lance Cpl. Riley Allstatt, 22, of Marion, Indiana, was found “incapacitated” by another Marine on the evening of Sept. 10 and was pronounced dead by medical personnel, according to a statement the base released Thursday morning. Allstatt served with the 1st Marine Division. The base did not say how he died or where on base he was found, and says his death remains under investigation. His family and friends have described it as an accidental weapons discharge inside an armory, the Marine Corps has not confirmed that account.
Allstatt married his wife, Anna, on Aug. 29, just 12 days before his death. Anna is now pregnant with the couple's first child and has moved back home to Fairfield, Idaho, according to friends.
Closer to home, a Twentynine Palms horse sanctuary is stepping in to help. Whispering Sands, a ranch that offers free equine therapy to veterans and others living with PTSD, donated a horse to Anna after seeing the bond the two had formed. The ranch's founder, military veteran Delissa Chase, hopes the horse can be "a source of comfort, healing, and companionship" as Anna grieves.
Chase started a GoFundMe to cover the roughly 800-mile trip to bring the horse from Twentynine Palms to Idaho, along with feed and ongoing care. As of Thursday, the fundraiser had raised nearly $900 of its $6,000 goal.
Allstatt is expected to be laid to rest in Indiana on Oct. 3.
By: NBC Palm Springs
September 23, 2026
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