2 Who Were Ill at Bar Recovering

Two women who became critically ill after having drinks in a bar have been released from the hospital, police said Monday.

The two women were among four customers who lost consciousness or became sick at the Rhino Room on Saturday night. Police are awaiting toxicology reports to determine whether their drinks were laced with the designer street drug known as Scoop, or gamma hydroxybutyric acid, Lt. Dan Johnson said.

An anonymous tipster told police that someone in the bar had been passing out Ecstasy, an amphetamine, just before the four people became ill. Police said they could not confirm that report.

The four customers--three of whom knew each other--said they did not use illegal drugs that night, police said.

A urine test on two of the victims detected the presence of Scoop, according to officials at Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center in Fountain Valley.

Of the four victims, Tracy Kirk, 24, and Mark Dobbins, 28, were treated at local hospitals and released Sunday morning.

The other two victims, Gabriela Santucci, 22, and Monika Taylor, 26, were released Sunday night from Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center in Fountain Valley.

Santucci and Taylor were temporarily on respirators after they had severe breathing difficulties.