Found Deceased CA - Rachel Nguyen, 20, & Joseph Orbeso, 21, Joshua Tree Nat'l Park, 27 July 2017 #1

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GigTu said:
If they used the sun as their guide, due west (or even south) is Parks Blvd., a paved road. Due north is highway 62. East is a little harder because there are paved trails, but they are pretty far away.

I hope LE is having someone patrol those roads in case these two did happen to find a road and are following it.
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Using the sun as a guide in Canyons can be difficult. Though one can note the sun's positions, the terrain can make acting on that information very difficult. For example, on one occasion I could see a nearby paved road during portions of a climb. But.... getting to that road would have been very difficult as there was only one way down from the mesa due to steep cliffs, and that pathway led away from the road.
 
tarabull said:
I missed this until now...FWIW

Snipped...


:thinking:
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I had not seen that detail either. His phone pinged at 4 PM Thursday, so that would indicate they were lost in the park all day and in trouble right away (if they stayed there). I wonder when they had checked into the BnB? Wednesday night?
 
I wonder how much water they packed, and if they were able to refill during the storms.

Where in the world could they possibly be? Are SAR leaving markers and notes in case these two come up behind them?
 
Noooooo! Time is running out. Please don't destroy any chance of finding thm alive, even if it comes from a heartfelt place. :(

On the other hand, maybe they will accidentally find them...
 
GigTu said:
Today I did a foolish thing, but I am fine now. I went on a bicycle ride (not alone), and it was 102*-105* out. I had water, had been drinking water all day, and a hat and sunglasses on. At first I was fine, pushed myself pretty hard on the ride, but after quite a few miles and about 40 minutes, I realized my mistake. And, I still had to get back. There was no shade, the sun was bearing down, I was in the boonies, and I knew I had made a completely poor choice. The whole time after I started getting dizzy, I was thinking about this couple and the things I've read here. For such a short stint in evil conditions, I could see that a person would quickly diminish in thoughts and abilities in a relatively short time. I was only out there for about 1 1/2 hours overall, but since I had worked myself so rigorously, it really kicked my butt. After stopping a ton along the way back, and going super slow because it's all I had left in me, I got to my driveway, stripped off everything that wasn't covering my naughty bits, and got myself inside the house. Someone else went out and get my things and put my bike away. I could barely walk, and I just didn't care. I really was not too far away from a heat stroke, but that didn't happen so no worries now. All the riders had some level of heat issues and regrets on our ride today. It was foolish. I can't image doing it all day, day in and day out, with little to no water.

I guess my main point to this posting is to say, if they are out in that desert, I do not think they are still alive. I don't see how they could be.
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GigTu I'm glad you are alright! See the experience in a positive way - you learned something today :)

Regarding your last sentence, I just saw underneath this thread a link to another WS thread where someone went missing in JTNP in July 2004, Eric Sears. (He was later found deceased.) What surprised me was his mother with strong hopes to find him alive on day 6 "if he's in a dark cool crevice". I don't know how realistic those hopes are/were but they made me wonder if Rachel and Joseph could be hiding out in deep shade somewhere. It might be possible to survive that way if they found a supply of water that hasn't dried out yet and completely keep out of the sun all day.

Another noteworthy piece of information from Eric's thread is Jimson weed, a hallucinogen that apparently grows naturally in the park and when consumed (or smoked?) can give you a powerful high but is also very dangerous and can lead to death. (A theory in that case was that Eric and his friend went out there to use Jimson weed.) I hope R and J have not touched the stuff!

Eric's thread:
http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...ars-17-Joshua-Tree-National-Park-15-July-2004
 
Thank you, Elainera.

I noticed in the SAR images that searchers were standing on the tops of hills looking off into the distance. From the viewer of the image's vantage point, we can see crevices and shady hide-holes and narrow cave-like holes. If these two are tucked away in one such type of location, how would the searchers detect them if they aren't down there probing?

I really think they need to break the vehicles rules during SAR. It's dangerous for the searchers, and obviously help would come quicker for the lost. It's kind of a dumb policy for situations such as this. So many lives are jeopardized so rocks don't get moved. Ugh
 
Desert Cruiser said:
Ouch....Post From JOSAR Facebook page....

Apparently some from the general public are searching in the Maze area on their own. THIS IS A CLOSED AREA!!! People have been interfering with the dogs doing their search. Your scent causes problems. Please stay clear.
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Very good information. Too many well meaning searchers interfere with both tracking dogs and tracking humans. I wonder why they don't put up road blocks on the few roads to that portion of the park, then set up trail blocks on any hiking trails leading to it?
 
Livefortheday99 said:
Why is foul play not suspected? A couple of weird things. The airbnb owner said it looked like the couple didn't spend the nigh on Thursday. A hiker said they didn't not see their car Thurs night when they finished their hike but another hiker said it was there Friday morning at 6am and saw no sign of them.

If they spent the night at the bnb they likely would have charged their phones for the morning.

His phone pinged in the park Thurs at 4pm so they were already there doing some hiking and leaving footprints etc. What if they left and then returned to the park at night to do some of the infamous stargazing at Joshua Park? A car could have driven by, saw their lone car there and taken the opportunity for foul play.

Has their been an explanation for the popped hood yet?

I hope they haven't ruled anything out.
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If they left the park for instance to find dinner, then the phone should have pinged when they got to a main road (someone upthread posted a map of all the cell towers). Also, most people realize that if your phone has no reception, then go up high on a hill or go to a vast open space. This is why I am concerned that they fell down low somewhere beneath cell phone coverage and unable to climb back out.
 
Been trying to determine who car it was, why the hood was up, is it operational as in starts up fueled etc.
 
[h=1]Weather expected to shift search efforts for missing couple in Joshua Tree[/h]
JOSHUA TREE, Calif. - Search and Rescue crews at Joshua Tree National Park are now in the process of shifting to search and recovery efforts regarding the missing pair of hikers from the L.A. area, according to Park Ranger George Land.
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While rescue crews are hoping to find the hikers still alive, air crews are expected to be surveying the area Wednesday afternoon and evening due to incoming weather, Land told KESQ News Channel 3 and CBS Local 2 Wednesday morning.
Rescue teams also have dogs searching the area to try and pick up a scent from the missing hikers. Because of this, park rangers said they have blocked off the area where the search is being conducted so the dogs won't get confused by the scent of other people.
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http://www.kesq.com/news/weather-ex...s-for-missing-couple-in-joshua-tree/598486459
 
From what I've read, there are lots of caves out there, and it's much cooler inside the caves. So maybe they took this convenient shelter from the sun/heat. However, it would doom their rescue because they would be hidden from view. Perhaps they heard the helicopters and planes, but were too weak by that time to come out.
 
mister happy said:
From what I've read, there are lots of caves out there, and it's much cooler inside the caves. So maybe they took this convenient shelter from the sun/heat. However, it would doom their rescue because they would be hidden from view. Perhaps they heard the helicopters and planes, but were too weak by that time to come out.
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The Joshua Tree Search & Rescue FB page has some videos and pictures of the trail they were hiking. If you look at them you can see where there are crevasses and areas were they could hide from the sun. Unfortunately what you said it also true. It's going to take a miracle to find them alive.

https://www.facebook.com/josarorg/posts/1499634020144455
 
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