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

[Gardener1850]

Ok, so this is weird. I just posted about 4 missing men from Southern California and two of them have the last name Nguyen. I'm aware this is a somewhat common name but I'm wondering if there is any connection between Rachel and the two men with the same last name that went missing in May. Their thread here: http://www.websleuths.com/forums/sh...our-Missing-Men-Trinity-County-18-19-May-2017

 

[SandyQLS]

That article is still showing the incorrect photo for Joseph.

Thank you. The article has updated to show the photos in post #35 by waitwait. They had a small update of info 2:56PM PST:

http://ktla.com/2017/07/31/vehicle-...issing-for-days-in-joshua-tree-national-park/

"... Family members said the pair were experienced hikers. Nguyen's uncle said the couple planned a trip to the national park to celebrate Nguyen's birthday. The young couple was staying at an Airbnb...

... said George Land, a ranger and spokesman for the park. There's no reason to suspect foul play, he said.

"We believe, unfortunately, we've got two young people that have gotten lost in the park, and we're doing our best to try to find them," Land said. ...

..."We're not giving up hope. We've had people that have lasted in conditions like this five to six days. It's not an impossibility," Land said. "We've got to find these people." ..."

 

[Seajay]

My worry is, if the volunteers are having problems with the heat while searching for them, how that heat has affected the couple who have now been out there for days? Every day that passes makes it least likely that they will be found alive. And that is a huge worry. I pray they are found soon. It's so hot there. IMO

 

[Gardener1850]

[h=1]National park brings in more resources to help search for missing hikers[/h]

JOSHUA TREE — More agencies have joined Joshua Tree National Park, JOSAR and San Bernardino County in the search for two missing hikers in Joshua Tree National Park on Monday.

Agents from Border Patrol and the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department have come to the national park to help search for Rachel Nguyen, 20, and Joseph Orbeso, 21, both from Westminster, who went hiking Thursday and have not been seen since.

It is not known if they took water or supplies with them on their hike.

http://www.hidesertstar.com/news/article_690df60c-7631-11e7-8011-8bf8c8aef7d2.html

 

[Elainera]

4 days in this heat ... I hope they had at least some water with them, and hopefully the rain helped. But as time goes by that hope is getting pretty slim.

Best would be if they'd stay somewhere in the shade and wait for rescue. But I can imagine that is a hard thing to do, the instinct says to keep moving to find the way back, or find water.

 

[frisson]

Quote from post #10 page one

Orbeso had been to the national park a couple of weeks ago to look at hiking trails. “He had been out here a couple weeks ago with another friend on a scouting trip, from what we’ve been told,” Messaros said.

Messaros has been trying to contact that friend to get an idea of where Orbeso might have been headed, but the friend is now in Japan and it has been difficult to get a hold of him.

Can anyone tell me if this is customary? to go on a scouting trip to an area with someone else prior to going with your gf two weeks later? And then the friend who attended the scouting trip and would know what area was scouted is unavailable? NOt blaming anyone. Just wondering if this is typical for hikers. TIA

 

[ttcRider]

Personally I would want to explore the hike together... I dont think it would be as fun if the person I was with has already been there done that... KWIM? Just a personal thing.

 

[frisson]

Do hikers generally scout out an area in advance???

Snipped from the link above...


:thinking:

ETA: other reasons to scout a location???? Photo shoot, first date, marriage proposal, ????

Sorry I just asked the same question before I saw your post. But did they just meet? Someone who posted that they knew her said she didn't have a (known) bf. I know some people are very private.

 

[Gardener1850]

Quote from post #10 page one


Can anyone tell me if this is customary? to go on a scouting trip to an area with someone else prior to going with your gf two weeks later? And then the friend who attended the scouting trip and would know what area was scouted is unavailable? NOt blaming anyone. Just wondering if this is typical for hikers. TIA

A later post said LE managed to contact the friend in Japan who said they didn't end up going to the park at all on the day they supposedly were going to "scout trails"-- They went to 29 Palms instead. So I'm not sure if it matters much. Hiking in Joshua Tree might have just been something Joseph had wanted to do for a while and Rachel was up for exploring it with him. Someone else in this thread said they often scout trails to get a feel for how rough they are. Another person suggested that this might have been a planned proposal and he was looking for a romantic spot on the first visit. There are all kinds of (non-nefarious) reasons someone might return to a park with a different friend 2 weeks after their first visit. JMO.

 

[Seajay]

I've never been hiking a day in my life (bad knees) so I have no concept of scouting out a hiking trail. How do you do that? Walk a little ways and look around? And not hike the whole thing to get an idea of what it would be like? But that doesn't tell you hard easy or hard it is a couple of miles in or a few miles from where you would exit. Sorry to be so dense on this subject. Go easy on me. LOL

 

[frisson]

A later post said LE managed to contact the friend in Japan who said they didn't end up going to the park at all on the day they supposedly were going to "scout trails""-- They went to 29 Palms instead. So I'm not sure if it matters much. Hiking in Joshua Tree might have just been something Joseph had wanted to do for a while and Rachel was up for exploring it with him. Someone else in this thread said they often scout trails to get a feel for how rough they are. Another person suggested that this might have been a planned proposal and he was looking for a romantic spot on the first visit. There are all kinds of (non-nefarious) reasons someone might return to a park with a different friend 2 weeks after their first visit. JMO.

Thank you. I should read more carefully before I post. I just back tracked and read more.

 

[Elainera]

I've never been hiking a day in my life (bad knees) so I have no concept of scouting out a hiking trail. How do you do that? Walk a little ways and look around? And not hike the whole thing to get an idea of what it would be like? But that doesn't tell you hard easy or hard it is a couple of miles in or a few miles from where you would exit. Sorry to be so dense on this subject. Go easy on me. LOL

I was wondering the same !

 

[everybodhi]

4 days in this heat ... I hope they had at least some water with them, and hopefully the rain helped. But as time goes by that hope is getting pretty slim.

Best would be if they'd stay somewhere in the shade and wait for rescue. But I can imagine that is a hard thing to do, the instinct says to keep moving to find the way back, or find water.

Their family say they are experienced hikers, no hiker would go anywhere without a water bottle, but especially not the desert. Their water for the day is long gone though, probably on the first day, before they knew they would be there so long. IMO

 

[tarabull]

Thank you. I should read more carefully before I post. I just back tracked and read more.

You're good, & you are in good company :wave:

Cheers.

Where are these two?!?!??!

:candle:

The update says there is water up in the rocks...hope they found some drinkables there!

 

[tarabull]

I haven't seen any mention of the use of drones in the search???

:thinking:

Maybe I missed it.

:blushing:

 

[truthbeknown]

This is hitting so close to home for me. My heart is aching. I pray they find them sooner than later and in good shape minus being dehydrated.

 

[Gardener1850]

I haven't seen any mention of the use of drones in the search???

:thinking:

Maybe I missed it.

:blushing:

Not drones, but:

Two fixed-wing planes and two helicopters, equipped with thermal imaging, have also flown over the park for any signs of Nguyen and Orbeso, park spokesman George Land said.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/...joshua-tree-national-park-20170731-story.html

I'm not an expert on drones or search and rescue techniques. Would drones be able to pick up something missed by the thermal imaging planes and helicopters?

 

[terracotta]

I've never been hiking a day in my life (bad knees) so I have no concept of scouting out a hiking trail. How do you do that? Walk a little ways and look around? And not hike the whole thing to get an idea of what it would be like? But that doesn't tell you hard easy or hard it is a couple of miles in or a few miles from where you would exit. Sorry to be so dense on this subject. Go easy on me. LOL

I have hiked for over 30 years. We pick our hikes by looking at the maps and reading other people's reviews of trails on hiking sites. It is always nice to read a review from someone who has been on the hike recently in case there are any changes in the terrain from storms etc.

I'm also friends with photographers that scout the trails for locations at different times of the day for different lighting.

It would be odd for someone experienced to go scout a trail for a hike.

Oh...sorry this isn't needed...I see he didn't end up scouting trails with his friend now two weeks prior, they were driving around in their car.

 

[Elainera]

Their family say they are experienced hikers, no hiker would go anywhere without a water bottle, but especially not the desert. Their water for the day is long gone though, probably on the first day, before they knew they would be there so long. IMO

Good point, they most likely had some water with them. And then were able to collect rain water, or dew, or something. Hopefully!

But how experienced can 20/21 year olds really be? I did some pretty stupid things when I was that age, not thinking much ahead. My guardian angel definitely worked overtime! That age group takes risks happily.

 

[Elainera]

Not drones, but:


http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/...joshua-tree-national-park-20170731-story.html

I'm not an expert on drones or search and rescue techniques. Would drones be able to pick up something missed by the thermal imaging planes and helicopters?

I don't know the answer to your question but the mention of thermal imaging planes which obviously have yielded no results so far, makes me really worried. If these two are in the search area, and are alive, shouldn't such a plane easily spot them?