Young California couple found 'in embrace' died in gun murder-suicide, say police

A young man and woman who disappeared in Joshua Tree National Park in southern California this summer died in a murder-suicide, authorities have revealed.

Two bodies discovered on Sunday in a remote canyon were identified as Orange County residents Rachel Nguyen, 20, and Joseph Orbeso, 22, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department said in a statement.

Autopsies found both had gunshot wounds and evidence at the scene led detectives to believe Orbeso shot Nguyen and then himself, the statement said.

It did not reveal a motive but said the investigation was ongoing.

The bodies were found in an embrace, authorities said earlier this week before formal identifications.

The couple was reported missing on July 28 when they failed to return to a bed-and-breakfast, whose owner believed they went hiking in the vast park sprawling over more than 1,200 square miles of the Mojave and Colorado deserts 130 miles east of Los Angeles.

Later that day, the National Park Service rangers found the couple's car, unoccupied, near the Maze Loop Trailhead.

The park's search-and-rescue team began looking for the pair, and the next day the park requested help from the county sheriff's department.

More than 250 searchers on the ground, on horseback, in aircraft and aided by dog teams spent nine days scouring the rugged terrain.

The bodies were not found until October 15.