Authorities in San Luis Obispo County found a tan-colored sedan and a body on Tuesday off the side of Highway 1 north of San Simeon and were investigating whether the wreck involved a missing couple from Los Angeles.
Olivia Hannah Gonzalez, 20, and Brian Fernandez, 21, were on a holiday road trip to Big Sur in a tan sedan. The Los Angeles Police Department[1] said both were reported missing after they did not return on Christmas Day as scheduled and have not been heard from.
The California Highway Patrol[2] received a report about 3:30 p.m. Tuesday that a tan vehicle was found about 325 feet below the steep embankment of the highway near Ragged Point, according to Officer Patrick Seebart, a CHP spokesman.
The location is a rugged spot about 10 miles north of Hearst Castle along the Central Coast. A helicopter crew surveyed the car's wreckage and spotted the bodies of a human and a dog about 15 feet from the vehicle, Seebart said.
The bodies and the car's wreckage were resting near the shoreline, authorities said.
Representatives of the San Luis Obispo County coroner's office were sent to the scene, and by late Tuesday, rescuers had recovered the person's body as well as the dead dog, Seebart said. The person's identity was not released pending notification of family.
Throughout the day, crews were slowed by a rainstorm in the area, and the sedan was expected to be hoisted up to the highway on Wednesday after the storm clears.
Authorities have not released the car's license plate or vehicle identification number.
Gonzalez and Fernandez were last seen Dec. 23 as they left Los Angeles for Big Sur. Fernandez was driving a 2002 four-door tan Honda Civic with California license plate 5VUD295.
Relatives have said the pair were traveling with two dogs.
Gonzalez's sister, Vanessa Guzman, told KTLA-TV that her husband received a text message from Gonzalez on Dec. 23. The message, sent about 1 p.m., said that the couple were two hours away from Big Sur.
"Then after that, her phone went off at 4 p.m. and [Fernandez's] phone went off and we haven't been able to reach them since," Guzman told the news station.
"I'm trying to stay positive for my family and his, and that they'll come home."
Twitter: @MattHjourno[4].
UPDATES:
11:15 p.m.: This article was updated to confirm that the bodies of a person and a dog were recovered from the scene.
This article was originally published at 7 p.m.
References
- ^ Los Angeles Police Department (www.latimes.com)
- ^ California Highway Patrol (www.latimes.com)
- ^ matt.hamilton@latimes.com (www.latimes.com)
- ^ @MattHjourno (www.twitter.com)
