Authorities in San Luis Obispo County Thursday were working to recover the car of a North Hollywood couple who went missing on a pre-Christmas road trip to Big Sur, a day after the woman’s body was positively identified.
Olivia Hannah Gonzalez, 20, and Brian Fernandez, 21, left Dec. 23 with their two dogs on what was to be a weekend trip. They had been expected home on Christmas Day, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
On Tuesday, the Honda Civic the couple took on their trip was found over the side of the roadway, and the woman’s body was found nearby, along with one of the dogs, a light brown Labrador retriever mix.
Positive identification of the woman’s body was made on Wednesday afternoon. Fernandez still was missing Thursday, along with the other dog, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
Firefighters were called about 3:35 p.m. Tuesday to the crash scene south of Ragged Point in the San Simeon area, which was spotted by a helicopter crew, Tony Cipolla of the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Department said.
Gonzalez’s body was recovered by rescue crews on Tuesday night, Cipolla said.
She and the dog were found about 15 feet from the car, which was about 325 feet over the side of PCH, California Highway Patrol Officer Patrick Seebart said.
Cipolla said the vehicle was found right at the surfline and Fernandez’ body could have been ejected into the ocean, so sheriff’s dive teams searched the water while search-and-rescue teams traversed steep, rocky terrain.
After daybreak Thursday, crews began the arduous effort to recover the car and determine if Fernandez’ body was at the scene, the CHP reported.
Sheriff’s detectives were looking for clues as to what happened, although no conclusions have been reached, Cipolla said.
Gonzalez’s grieving sister Vanessa told KNX Newsradio that she set up a gofundme account to help their family.
“We are going to need to bring her back this way and you know, give her a nice burial,” she said.
