The missing couple found dead and locked in an embrace in Joshua Tree National Park died in a grisly murder-suicide, an autopsy has found.
Investigators in the southern California park said in a Friday statement that Joseph Orbeso, 22, shot and killed his 20-year-old girlfriend Rachel Nguyen before turning the gun on himself.
The bodies were found Sunday at the end of a trail of water bottles and food wrappers, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said.
Nguyen and Orbeso, both from Orange County, were reported missing on July 28, after they failed to check out of their accommodations near the park.
The concerned owner of the bed and breakfast contacted authorities, who discovered the couple’s car sitting unoccupied near a trail head the same day.
Two bodies were found in Joshua Tree National Park on Sunday, and they are believed to be the remains of a couple who went missing nearly three months ago – 22-year-old Joseph Orbeso (left) and 20-year-old Rachel Nguyen
Park rangers found the couple’s abandoned car on July 28, the same day they were reported missing. Their bodies were found in the apparent murder-suicide on Sunday inside the park
A massive search and rescue effort of over 250 team members ensued, combing the park’s 791,000 acres for any clue to the couple’s whereabouts.
Orbeso’s father Gilbert took part in the search on Sunday.
‘I believed I was going to find them. I didn’t know when, but I had my answer today,’ Gilbert told KABC.
He said that they found clothing near a wash, and a trail of water bottles and food wrappers led them to the bodies, which were embracing one another.
‘I hope that they can rest in peace now,’ Gilbert said.
He added to KESQ: ‘After going a long time on these hikes, I feel that we have closure, and we know we found them. That was our main goal, was to find them.’
Authorities said a ping from Orbeso’s cellphone was recorded in the park a day before the couple was reported missing.
The couple’s car was later found in the northwestern area of the park, the Hi-Desert Star reported.
Orbeso’s car was found abandoned in the park after the two never checked out of their bed and breakfast back in July
The couple were reported missing July 28, after they failed to check out of their accommodations near the park. Above, the search effort back in July
Temperatures in the park had topped 100 degrees and it was unclear whether the couple had water and supplies with them
Above, a search team member scours the park with a dog
Search teams searched form the air as well
Orbeso and Nguyen visited Joshua Tree National Park to celebrate her Nguyen’s birthday, according to their friend Austin Young, 23.
Orbeso and Nguyen’s car, a burgundy Lexus, was discovered near the Maze Loop, in the northwest area of the park, and footprints were seen leading away from it.
‘The way the tracks were picked up indicate these people could be walking in circles, which is not uncommon when people are lost,’ George Land, a spokesman for Joshua Tree National Park, told the Orange County Register.
Temperatures in the park had topped 100 degrees and it was unclear whether the couple had water and supplies with them.
Orbeso and Nguyen’s car was discovered near the Maze Loop, in the northwest area of the park, and footprints were seen leading away from it
George Land, a spokesman for Joshua Tree National Park, said the couple were not experienced hikers
Land said the couple did not appear to be experienced hikers.
‘They weren’t desert rats,’ Land said. ‘This is a whole different world out here.’
Orbeso and Nguyen visited Joshua Tree National Park to celebrate her Nguyen’s birthday, according to their friend Austin Young, 23.
Young said Orbeso, a security guard at a Long Beach golf course, was ‘in very good shape, always carries knives when hiking and is a survivalist.
‘He is also the most respectful, honest, and straight-forward person you will ever meet,’ he said.