Suspected vandals needed to be rescued from a cliff

SAN FRANCISCO — Two men suspected of vandalism had to be rescued after becoming stranded on a cliff in a San Francisco-area national park on Thursday afternoon and were later taken into custody, officials said.

The men, who were not identified, were believed to have defaced a historic military building in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and got stuck down a steep cliff when trying to escape park rangers, the National Park Service said in a statement.

One of the men was lifted to safety by a state police helicopter and the other was saved by rangers and firefighters who used climbing gear to pull him from the waterfront precipice.

Authorities are continuing to investigate the case, the Park Service said.