Four foreign nationals are facing kidnapping, assault and other charges following an incident that began Wednesday at Hendry’s Beach in Santa Barbara.

At about 11 a.m., a man was returning to his vehicle in the beach parking lot when he observed suspicious activity involving several people associated with a late-model Audi Q5, according to Anthony Wagner, a Santa Barbara Police Department spokesman.

“The victim glanced at the back of his camper shell and noticed the lock had been punctured by the suspects,” Wagner said. “The victim approached the SUV and observed the rear passenger door ajar. Upon confronting the rear occupant, a fight ensued.”

During the fight, an occupant in the rear seat of the Audi grabbed the victim and pulled him into the moving vehicle, Wagner said.

“The door closed and the Audi driver fled on Cliff Drive toward Las Positas Road with the victim held by the rear passengers against his will,” Wagner said. “While the fight inside the vehicle continued, the victim managed to open the door when the vehicle momentarily slowed. The victim rolled out onto the street as the suspect vehicle continued towards 101 south.”

The victim called 9-1-1 and provided a detailed description of the vehicle and the suspects.

Minutes later, Santa Barbara officers located the Audi.

“The Audi driver attempted to evade officers, but eventually yielded to a traffic stop on the Highway 101 south onramp at Carrillo Street,” Wagner said.

Four people, all from South America who were in the country on tourist visas, were taken into custody and face possible charges including kidnapping, assault with a deadly weapon, and attempted auto burglary, Wagner said.

Three who initially provided fake names and identification were eventually identified through fingerprints as Yusset Aloma Gonzalez Astorga, 31, Jean Nahuelan Valladares, 31, and Manuel Leiva Parra, 23, Wagner said.

A fourth suspect gave the name Yessenia Cortez, 35, but that had not been confirmed, Wagner added.

The investigation was ongoing, and possible additional victims were being contacted, Wagner said.

— Noozhawk executive editor Tom Bolton can be reached at tbolton@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.