Joshua Tree National Park announced yesterday the temporary closure of the Maze Loop Trail and trailhead while searchers look for two missing hikers. Tuesday was the fifth day in the search for Rachel Nguyen, 20, and Joseph Orbeso, 21, of Westminster. The couple’s car was found Friday at the trailhead for the Maze Loop Trail, just inside the Joshua Tree entrance to the park, after the owner of the AirBnb where they were staying reported them missing. Park spokesman George Land told Z107.7 News that at one time, more than 100 searchers were looking for Nguyen and Orbeso, as well as six dog teams, two helicopters, and two airplanes, in temperatures of more than 100 degrees. Searchers spotted the hikers’ tracks, but the tracks disappeared in the rocky terrain. Land said that oftentimes lost hikers will start discarding clothing, empty water bottles, and other gear, but the searchers haven’t found any discarded items. The search dog teams go out early in the morning, often before sunrise, before it gets too hot for the dogs. The rain and thunderstorms Tuesday forced the grounding of the aircraft in the search for the hikers.
