The county coroner’s office has classified the deaths of two hikers who went missing in Joshua Tree National Park as a murder-suicide. Rachel Nguyen, 20, and Joseph Orbeso, 21, had been reported missing July 28 when they did not check out of their vacation rental in Joshua Tree, but all their belongings were still there. A Joshua Tree search and rescue party with Orbeso’s father found the two bodies on Sunday, October 15, and their deaths were reported to the Sheriff’s department shortly before 2 p.m. October 15. The location was described as a steep canyon to the far north of the Maze Loop Trailhead. Due to suspicious circumstances and visible injuries to the bodies, homicide detectives were called to the scene. The bodies were not recovered until Monday, October 16, because of loss of daylight. On Wednesday and Thursday, the coroner’s office confirmed the identities of the bodies as Rachel Nguyen and Joseph Orbeso. The coroner also found evidence of gunshot wounds to both Nguyen and Orbeso, and concluded that Orbeso shot Nguyen, and then shot himself. The motive for the murder-suicide is still under investigation.
