After a search spanning several months, it is believed the bodies of two missing southern California hikers have been found. The last time 21-year old Joseph Orbeso and Rachel Nguyen, 20 were heard from was on July 27 this year. Searchers, including Orbeso’s father, discovered the pair, lying in an embrace in a remote area of Joshua Tree National Park on Sunday. While identification has still to be made of the two bodies found in the park, Gilbert Orbeso believes the two missing hikers have finally been found.
Couple missing in Joshua Tree National Park since July
The last time anyone heard from Orbeso and Nguyen was on July 27. A search was launched for the missing hikers, which led to the search teams discovering their car close to the Maze Loop trailhead. On searching the couple’s Airbnb rental, their luggage and other belongings were still there. The family was alerted after Joseph and Rachel failed to check out of the property on July 28. According to the National Park Service, the last ping on Orbeso’s cellphone was recorded inside the park on July 27 at 4 p.m.
Authorities had launched an intensive search in the park for the missing hikers, using both canine teams and helicopters.
However four weeks later, they were forced to scale back the search, due to lack of sufficient resources.
Searchers find the two embracing bodies in the park
Orbeso’s father searched various sections of the Joshua Tree National Park for months, both with authorities and also with friends of the couple. This past Sunday they searched a different area of the park and while scaling 30-foot cliffs came across food wrappers, water bottles and clothing. Gilbert Orbeso told KABC that the searchers then came across the two bodies, lying embracing each other on the ground.
Authorities collected the remains of the pair by helicopter on Monday, after which they were transferred to the San Bernardino coroner's office to establish the identities.
However, Orbeso believes they are, indeed, the remains of his son and his girlfriend. He went on to say the family feels that they have closure now and he hopes that the couple can now rest in peace.
As reported by the New York Daily News, there have been more than 1,000 deaths in U.S. National Parks in the last ten years, excluding suicides. Most of the fatalities were the result of either motor vehicle accidents or drowning. However, Joshua Tree National Park saw temperatures of around 100 degrees this summer. According to a report by the Washington Post, that park was listed among the 10 deadliest national parks back in 2014.