Young Hikers Missing in Joshua Tree Since Thursday [7/27/17]

[Myth]

Perry's linked story was updated with more information this morning. The discovery was made about 2 miles from the Maze Loop trail, and follows a fairly typical profile for people lost in the wilderness - clothing, food wrappers and water bottles were found in the vicinity, and that led to the discovery of the bodies.

The searchers said they were covering new grounds and were scaling 30 foot cliffs and boulders. They were just 2 miles from Maze Loop when they came across water bottles, clothing, and food wrappers that lead them to the bodies.

A coroner's helicopter overhead picked up the remains, which will be sent to the San Bernardino coroners office to confirm the identities.

It also sounds like they were indeed found in rough terrain, and at elevation ( "30 foot cliffs" ) which fits the profile of lost people often traveling uphill, not downhill. Backcountry wisdom suggests following drainages because drainages typically lead to civilization, but I think the instinct is to gain elevation in order to have a look around, so people who do not make a study of what to do when lost may go uphill.

[cynthia23]

Here is a fairly recent report from kabc http://abc7.com/bodies-believed-to-be-s ... e/2538618/ This one suggests they were found in a wash, but of course who knows about the accuracy of these early reports.

One thing is very clear, though--what a tragic waste of young life. Sad.

[Ellen]

[Ric Capucho]

From JOSAR’s Facebook page:

JOSAR found two bodies in the National Park yesterday on the north side of the Maze Trail system. They were found in a rugged canyon with boulders (towards highway 62 direction) and down from the Maze. The father of the boy was with JOSAR when they were found.
As was mentioned a couple months ago, when others ended the search, JOSAR continues its searching in conjunction with our weekly trainings.

[cynthia23]

Thank you for posting that info, Ric.

[zippetydude]

Sad news. Now I am wondering why that guy was so sure he had seen them after their disappearance. It gave the families false hope, probably making this news all the more devastating. Rough all around.

z

[cynthia23]

It probably was not done with any malice or ill intent, though you're right, it probably made it even harder for the families. My theory for why the man was so sure he'd seen them: he was next door neighbor to an AirBnB at which Orbeso HAD stayed a few weeks previously, with his friend. It's likely that during that time, the neighbor saw Orbeso, although probably did not pay any conscious attention to it. Later, during the time period immediately before/after the disappearance, another couple were staying at this AirBnB, and I suspect they may have been Hispanic or Asian--not white, at any rate. The neighbor also saw this couple--again, without consciously attending to it. After the disappearance, Orbeso and Nguyen's photos were in the paper. The neighbor subliminally recognized the picture of Orbeso, and was troubled by it, but didn't consciously remember that it had actually been several weeks ago, since that fact didn't fit with the facts in the news story. Instead, his subconscious 'made up a story' in which he put Orbeso's face onto the male half of the AirBnB couple he'd most recently seen. ( I suspect they were non-white, because many studies have shown that our recall of faces is much poorer with people not of our own race, and the neighbor was a white man. He'd be more likely to mix up one non-white couple with another non-white couple) Basically, I think his subconscious made up a story that would make sense of the troubling yet seemingly out of place memory of Orbeso's face.

[zippetydude]

I agree that it does not appear to be anything negative or deliberate. Actually, the guy seemed very genuine and I think your theory is likely correct. It just seems like everything that could possibly go wrong and make it harder on the families did go wrong. Also, in looking back over our conversation, I guess it looks like the dogs are simply not a very effective method of finding people, at least not in the desert where the humidity is so low.

z

[cynthia23]

No, it seems that OtherHand is correct, and dogs are really oversold as a means of finding the lost, at least in a wilderness situation. They seem effective in collapsed buildings and other limited areas.

I hope that this tragedy will lead to more conversations about these and other issues.

[Wildhorse]

I feel sad to think about what happened, and still wonder how or why.

Newspapers say they were found two or more more miles north of the maze area. Last time I went to Maze the signs were confusing and started heading north on a trail that I expected to turn back south and then east. It never did. I turned back and found another trail into the Maze area. So I wonder if that happened to them. But we don't know and probably never will.

More than once trails have made me lost. GPS, map and compass are more reliable, as is just paying attention to the land. But is this relevant at all to what happened here? We don't know.