Found Deceased CA - Sophia Edwards, 19, & Ethan Manzano, 20, did not arrive home, State Route 2, 1 Jul 2021

[whitelilac]

Such a young couple, at the beginning of their lives, they looked so happy together....
Tragic outcome.
I've driven that road, years ago, it was scary, as well as other winding, scary roads with such drop offs on one side. A momentary lapse of attention, swerving an animal, brake failure, a loose fallen rock, a reckless driver coming from the opposite direction.....
I'm so sorry this happened.

 

[10ofRods]

Is Wrightwood a winding road too? The phone ping was in Wrightwood indicated they got off the mountain.

Not really. I mean, lots and lots of people drive it/commute it daily without a lot of accidents. "getting off the mountain" to me means they got back into downtown Wrightwood.

 

[mlhenn]

Missing teens: Crashed SUV with 2 victims found amid Angeles National Forest search

There’s a video included at the above link; it shows how the vehicle was partly concealed by rock & other debris.

Investigators believe Manzano was driving the Isuzu, which was found off the side of the highway near mile marker 71 around 2 p.m. Tuesday.

California Highway Patrol will lead an investigation into the crash, sheriff’s officials said.

 

[10ofRods]

I really hope they are thoroughly searching along the winding roads, with a helicopter and drones.

Reminds me too much of my friend's best friend who vanished also in similar terrain. Searches were suspended, so my friend along with others rented a helicopter themselves. They found him, he had gone over the edge, they finally sighted his vehicle at the bottom of a ravine under a canopy of trees and brush. Sadly he was deceased.

Also of another incident, a young couple who disappeared in Kings Canyon, at the same time that I too was there. The river at the bottom was extremely high and rushing that year. Their vehicle was also eventually found submerged in that turbulent water. It was the second such accident that fall of a car going off the road in that location.
Missing San Diego couple bodies recovered from Kings River | cbs8.com

I hate to think they had something similar happen, and that they might be seriously injured waiting for help.

There's no water for their car to be under, right now. The river was high that year for about a 2 month period - and then, when summer came, they were found.

There were two couples that disappeared in the same section that year.

There are no rushing rivers near Wrightwood - or indeed, in the mountains near Wrightwood. The river you're referencing in the Sierra has been low this year, too. But even it it weren't, but now, it would be way low enough to see a car.

I think it's something else. They could have gone off a road - but not into a raging river.

 

[whitelilac]

There's no water for their car to be under, right now. The river was high that year for about a 2 month period - and then, when summer came, they were found.

There were two couples that disappeared in the same section that year.

There are no rushing rivers near Wrightwood - or indeed, in the mountains near Wrightwood. The river you're referencing in the Sierra has been low this year, too. But even it it weren't, but now, it would be way low enough to see a car.

I think it's something else. They could have gone off a road - but not into a raging river.

I wasn't implying they went into a river, just that winding roads with steep drop offs are prone to accidents. The two cases in Kings Canyon were examples of going off the road. I was there at the time of the second accident, and certainly could see that happen. You can barely look at the scenery when driving. (same with parts of the Big Sur coastline)

In any case, it's what happened here...they went off the road. I was so hoping it would not be as serious as it was, that they could be injured, but alive, and waiting for help...hence my concern that SAR was in fact actively and seriously searching. So very sad.

 

[LAhiker]

Incredibly sad. Here's ABC7's piece on the discovery; it includes a brief interview with the drone operator. That's one hell of a slope and drop-off.

The reporter says he isn't sure that they were filming the right vehicle (though it looks like the same as the one in another report) because others have gone off the edge in the same place. I sure hope they will do something about that part of the road.

2 bodies found amid search for missing couple last seen in Angeles National Forest

 

[mlhenn]

Two bodies found off Angeles Crest Highway in car tied to missing teens

The bodies of two people have been found inside a vehicle off the Angeles Crest Highway that has been connected to the case of two missing teenagers.

The car was located about 2 p.m. Tuesday near mile marker 71.5 of the Angeles Crest Highway, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Trina Schrader.

Schrader said that a coroner would have to identify the bodies and that she could not provide information on the victims’ ages or cause of death.

Schrader said the car appeared to have tumbled down the side of the highway. California Highway Patrol spokesperson Elizabeth Kravig said the cause of the crash was under investigation.

Two Bodies Found Inside Vehicle Where Missing Teen Couple, Sophie Edwards And Ethan Manzano, Were Last Seen

Tuesday marked a tragic end to the search for a missing teen couple after two bodies, believed to be the teens, were found amid a mangled vehicle.

A volunteer with a drone located their belongings.

Two bodies were found inside the wreck, and family gathered at the scene to mourn the loss.

 

[whitelilac]

Another report here, a few more details.

Sophia's sister speaks, as does Ethan's father briefly.
Just makes me cry.

Missing teens: Crashed SUV with 2 victims found amid Angeles National Forest search

 

[ThoughtFox]

How sad - those two kids were so cute and their faces just glowed. What a terrifying place to drive off a mountain. Those aerial views in the news footage were shocking. In such a big area, it's a miracle they found the car and bodies. Drones are so useful in many situations like this. At least now there is closure for the families, but it's just awful because they were so young.

 

[zenzen]

heartbreaking

 

[10ofRods]

So they were well outside of Wrightwood (and well away from any flat stretches of road). This is so sad. One moment of inattention.

For those of you who do not know this highway, there are people who use it to commute into northern Los Angeles (it's almost unbelievable that people would do that 4-5 days a week, but I've known people who did it).

It's a really popular drive for young people and for picnics. It's just devastating that two kids who clearly loved the out of doors are gone. For whatever reason, vehicular accidents are way up in California this year. We'll probably never know if this was the fault of another, careless driver.

 

[Dawookie]

So they were well outside of Wrightwood (and well away from any flat stretches of road). This is so sad. One moment of inattention.

For those of you who do not know this highway, there are people who use it to commute into northern Los Angeles (it's almost unbelievable that people would do that 4-5 days a week, but I've known people who did it).

It's a really popular drive for young people and for picnics. It's just devastating that two kids who clearly loved the out of doors are gone. For whatever reason, vehicular accidents are way up in California this year. We'll probably never know if this was the fault of another, careless driver.

Not sure how many use the section from Wrightwood to go to LA and back but the Angeles forest section to the AV is heavily traveled. Used to be a quick short cut from the Pasadena area to Palmdale but not anymore. There's multiple accidents a week on that stretch from people driving like idiots, the majority of them are head on collisions and vehicles over the side.

 

[Shiningstar]

<modsnip - quoted post removed>


God bless them and their families, so young, so much to live for, may they both rest in peace. A horrid outcome.

 

[PeriwinkleE]

<modsnip - quoted post removed>

The news video said near mile marker 72.
It’s so curvy, I can see how it could have been a matter of going too fast and misjudgment.

 

[Dawookie]

The news video said near mile marker 72.
It’s so curvy, I can see how it could have been a matter of going too fast and misjudgment.

Yeah but Google maps doesn't pull up mile markers and the reports were near Dawson's Gap or Vincent Gap which are about 5 miles apart. It's curvy but not nearly as other sections around it.

What surprises me the most is there is no guard rail at all anywhere to prevent people from going off.

 

[Unsolved]

<modsnip> this part of the article in the OP makes me think accident:

“We were supposed to be helping them load up and move to Colorado today".

<modsnip>

 

[whitelilac]

<modsnip> The issues mentioned in the missing poster could simply mean something like social anxiety, fear of something, or whatever he may have had treatment for.
I read they were visiting, or meeting friends earlier in a cabin up there. It was just a day out, I think, and tragically this happened.

 

[whitelilac]

I didn't know it was in the middle of the night.

"Ethan Manzano and Edwards, his girlfriend, were visiting friends in the Newcombs Ranch area but left around 1:30 a.m. on July 1 to drive home to Apple Valley."

"Investigators speculate that the vehicle's driver veered off the winding roadway, sending the vehicle careening down the hillside."

Authorities work to recover bodies, possibly of missing teenage couple, in Angeles National Forest

 

[mlhenn]

2 People Found Dead in Car Last Seen with Teens Missing for Nearly a Week in California

The Apple Valley teens, who were dating, were last seen in the Angeles National Forest, where they left a friend's house around 1:30 a.m., according to KNBC.

"The friends said their demeanor was normal, nothing out of character for them," Det. Matthew Pereida of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Missing Persons Unit told the outlet. "They were an affectionate couple. They had a great time."

Edwards' father Jeremy said the couple was planning to move to Colorado over the July 4 holiday weekend.

"I was going to go Friday morning and load up their furniture in my truck and caravan to Colorado on Saturday morning," he told KNBC. "They seemed excited about the idea. They had friends in Colorado they were planning to move in with."

 

[mlhenn]

2 bodies found in SUV that plunged off Los Angeles cliff believed to be missing teens

Rescue workers planned to rappel down a steep cliff and recover two bodies Wednesday from the burned wreckage of an SUV that plunged into a ravine in the Angeles National Forest northeast of Los Angeles.

The victims were thought to be missing teens Sophia Edwards and her boyfriend Ethan Manzano, but formal identification of the remains was pending completion of the recovery effort and a coroner examination, officials said.

The mangled SUV was found near Dawson Saddle Trail.