Found Deceased CA - Rachel Nguyen, 20, & Joseph Orbeso, 21, Joshua Tree Nat'l Park, 27 July 2017 #2

[Greater Than]

link​

Search under way for couple missing in Joshua Tree National Park

July 29, 2017

A search is under way for a man and woman believed to be hiking in Joshua Tree National Park and missing since at least Thursday.

The couple, identified as Rachel Nguyen and Joseph Orbeso, was supposed to check out of their accommodations at 11 a.m. Friday, but had not, George Land, park spokesman said in a press release sent out Saturday morning.

A vehicle belonging to the couple was found in the area of the Maize Loop, in the northwest area of the park, Land said.


Missing couple in Joshua Tree died in murder-suicide, authorities say

October 20, 2017

A couple who disappeared in Joshua Tree National Park nearly three months ago died in a murder-suicide, authorities said Friday.

Investigators say Joseph Orbeso, 22, shot and killed his girlfriend, Rachel Nguyen, 20, and then turned the gun on himself, according to a release Friday from the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department Morongo Basin station.

Investigators recovered a handgun at the scene, San Bernardino sheriff’s spokeswoman Cindy Bachman said.

[...]

On Sunday, almost three months after the Orange County couple was reported missing, a park ranger found the bodies inside “a steep canyon to the far north of the Maze Loop Trailhead,” according to the sheriff’s statement.

“Based on evidence located at the scene, detectives believe Orbeso shot Nguyen, then shot himself. The investigation into Orbeso’s actions remains under investigation,” the statement said.



Thread #1

 

[Miranda]

They also say empty water bottles, food wrappers and bandaged wounds they were found with show the two friends tried to survive as long as they could in brutal July conditions in the desert but when they realized no one was coming they had no choice but to take their own lives.

Rachel Nguyen's family also sent a statement that says in part that it's a difficult time for the family and investigators told them it was a sympathetic murder suicide and they hold no grudges against Joseph or the Orbeso family.

http://www.kmir.com/story/36648617/...on-killed-friend-and-himself-to-end-suffering

 

[ecomango]

Statement from Nguyen's family.

[FONT=&quot]https://twitter.com/BeatrizVNews/status/921574263399751680[/FONT]

 

[kaen]

Statement from Nguyen's family.

[FONT="]https://twitter.com/BeatrizVNews/status/921574263399751680[/FONT]

This is an incredibly kind statement with such a horrible circumstance.

 

[Dixie811]

So sad

 

[whitelilac]

I wish they hadn't used the word "murder", it has such connotations and will stick in people's perception of being a deliberately vicious act.
It does a great disservice to Joseph's memory and to his loved ones. Mercy killing/suicide might have been a better term. We don't know the circumstances of the decision, it's possible that Rachel was very much involved in that final decision as well.

 

[LadyL]

wow
how terrible for them

 

[iscaremyself]

I wish they hadn't used the word "murder", it has such connotations and will stick in people's perception of being a deliberately vicious act.
It does a great disservice to Joseph's memory and to his loved ones. Mercy killing/suicide might have been a better term. We don't know the circumstances of the decision, it's possible that Rachel was very much involved in that final decision as well.

I guess death by homicide or at the hands of another could also have been descriptors.. the press release rules out suicide but how could they be sure

 

[Dixie811]

Has it rained a lot? I wonder if they tried to scratch a message into the dirt but it was washed away.

 

[wsthrow]

Nothing on her instagram makes her look like a crazy party girl super into "drugs and vaping" either....she posts pictures of her friends, animals, and food. I went back to 2014 and I see nothing about drugs, psychedelics or weed, or vaping at all.

FYI, that stuff is on her twitter and tumblr (same username, rach0de). Ton of twitter follows for vaping and 420/stoner accounts, lot of tumblr reblog content of similar thing, and a few text posts hinting of drug use.

 

[Satchie]

CNN has a respectful article [video]http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/21/us/california-joshua-tree-missing-couple-found/index.html[/video] . It implies they may have gotten into an area where they couldn't see any exit and felt trapped there.

It includes drone footage of the park, but with no credits about when/where. Still, it should help convey the harshness and complete isolation of the terrain.

 

[Satchie]

FYI, that stuff is on her twitter and tumblr (same username, rach0de). Ton of twitter follows for vaping and 420/stoner accounts, lot of tumblr reblog content of similar thing, and a few text posts hinting of drug use.

Isn't that just being a kid in LA? You won't get respect from cool people or invited to cool parties if you post like you're a girl scout.

I don't see how it matters, people get lost in the desert for various reasons. No one can say they must have been on drugs or they wouldn't have gotten lost, it's more likely they hadn't taken anything that early in the morning, drugs are for partying, not hiking.

 

[Dixie811]

I mean. Recreational marijuana is legal in CA, though Rachel is a bit underage. I don’t understand comments insinuating that not yet completing a college degree or smoking weed mean something sinister was afoot. I just don’t. They’re young adults and sound very normal to me.

 

[KaaBoom]

I wish they hadn't used the word "murder", it has such connotations and will stick in people's perception of being a deliberately vicious act.
It does a great disservice to Joseph's memory and to his loved ones. Mercy killing/suicide might have been a better term. We don't know the circumstances of the decision, it's possible that Rachel was very much involved in that final decision as well.

Or just double suicide.

 

[wsthrow]

Isn't that just being a kid in LA? You won't get respect from cool people or invited to cool parties if you post like you're a girl scout.

I don't think it's unusual and wasn't implying anything, people asked about it is all. It was one of the common interests between the two.

Yeah, they could have gotten lost with or without drugs, both scenarios are completely plausible.

 

[Elainera]

This is from the last page of Thread 1, it confuses me:

yukoncornelius wrote:

FWIW close friend of Joseph's, Mr. Young, was quoted previously stating he did want Joseph to go down as a murderer.

Who is "Mr. Young" and why would he want Joseph to go down as a murderer? Do you have a link for this statement? TIA.

 

[TruthIsStranger]

It would be interesting to know what the friend on the scouting trip knows about Josephs intentions. I'm sure he would have told the friend why he was scoping out the best restaurants, etc. But his friend probably wouldn't want to admit it if Joseph had strong feelings and romantic intentions for her at this point because it might strengthen the murder suicide angle. We will probably never know.

The "protecting from a stalker" bit seems suspect to me. Why would she broadcast her vacation plans if she had a stalker? Wouldn't they have been able to tell if someone was following them out there?

 

[iliketotalk15]

CNN has a respectful article [video]http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/21/us/california-joshua-tree-missing-couple-found/index.html[/video] . It implies they may have gotten into an area where they couldn't see any exit and felt trapped there.

It includes drone footage of the park, but with no credits about when/where. Still, it should help convey the harshness and complete isolation of the terrain.

That video helps so much with giving an idea of what kind of environment it was. I admit I was really thinking of more sandy dune kind of desert. You can see the path from the drone, but it probably isn't as obvious from the ground. And lots of places to 'hide' or not be seen.

Just a warning for anyone watching the video, the drone does spin a lot which quickly gave me vertigo and a bit of a headache, so be forewarned watching it.

 

[KaaBoom]

CNN has a respectful article [video]http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/21/us/california-joshua-tree-missing-couple-found/index.html[/video] . It implies they may have gotten into an area where they couldn't see any exit and felt trapped there.

It includes drone footage of the park, but with no credits about when/where. Still, it should help convey the harshness and complete isolation of the terrain.

After reading that article I'm starting to think that all these desert parks should automatically be closed when the temperature is forecast to be over 100 degrees. It was too hot for even the searchers to be out there. Nobody should be out hiking in the desert in that type of weather.

 

[TruthIsStranger]

That video helps so much with giving an idea of what kind of environment it was. I admit I was really thinking of more sandy dune kind of desert. You can see the path from the drone, but it probably isn't as obvious from the ground. And lots of places to 'hide' or not be seen.

Just a warning for anyone watching the video, the drone does spin a lot which quickly gave me vertigo and a bit of a headache, so be forewarned watching it.

I had trouble getting a sense of the scale. How big would the average green shrub be? How tall might one of the tallest rock formations be? I see what i think are washes--how wide are they, usually? Thanks for any insight on this from any sleuthers.