Two bodies found Tuesday in the wreckage of an SUV that plunged hundreds of feet off a cliff in the Angeles National Forest may be those a missing teenage couple that vanished last week, authorities said Tuesday.
The bodies weren’t immediately identified but the car matched one that was carrying Sophia Rayanne Edwards and Ethan Manzano, both 19, who were last seen on July 1 on the Angeles Crest Highway in the forest northeast of Los Angeles, authorities said.
Manzano’s father said he felt the two were dead.
“I can’t believe I’m going to be burying my son,” Al Manzano said. “He’s only 19.”
The teens’ families became concerned when they both failed to show up for work Friday.
“This has been a very difficult time for our family, but we were able to get through this because of everyone’s kindness,” said Cheyenne Chassie, Edwards’ sister.
The wrecked car was spotted about 2 p.m. hundreds of feet down the cliff from the highway several miles west of Wrightwood, authorities said. A volunteer with a search and rescue team put together by the missing teens’ families discovered the wreckage using a drone, California Highway Patrol Officer Monique Mischeaux told KTLA.
Recovery of the bodies was expected to take place late Wednesday morning.
The Los Angeles County coroner’s office will identify the bodies, authorities said.
The cause of the crash was under investigation.
A preliminary investigation found that the unknown driver was heading east on the highway at an unknown speed when he or she “either caused or allowed” the vehicle to veer to the left, where it hit a dirt berm and overturned several times down the steep mountainside, according to a CHP news release.
Anyone with additional information about the crash can call Officer M. Rogers at the CHP Antelope Valley Area office at 661-948-8541.