California

Couple Found After Going Missing on Mother's Day Trip to Casino

A dead man and dehydrated woman found in a car in a remote area of north San Diego County on Sunday were identified as an Orange County couple missing since Mother’s Day, sheriff's officials confirmed.

Los Coyotes police confirmed to NBC4's sister station in San Diego, KNSD, the victims were found in a white car, the same color of the 2014 Hyundai Sonata driven by Paul Knutson and Dianna Bedwell.

The vehicle was located in a wooded area near the small town of Warner Springs along Highway 79. Someone off-roading in the rugged terrain near the Los Coyotes Reservation spotted the car about 2:30 p.m.

When a Cal Fire crew arrived to the location, they found a woman suffering from dehydration. She was airlifted to the hospital, said Kendal Bortisser of Cal Fire. The man was confirmed dead at the scene.

The couple survived on oranges and pie, and cups placed around the vehicle suggested the couple collected rain water, said Lt. Ken Nelson of the San Diego County Sheriff's Department.

Knutson, 79, and Bedwell, 67, were last seen leaving Valley View Casino near Escondido and were expected at their son's La Quinta home in Riverside County that evening to celebrate Mother's Day. They had not been heard from since, and the couple's son called their disappearance unusual.

Nelson said the couple tried to take a shortcut several miles from the main road and ended up stuck on boulders in rugged terrain.

"It was obvious that they were walking around. They tried to walk out two or three times but couldn't make it," said tribal police chief Dave Sossaman.

The cause of Knutson's death was unclear. Foul play was not suspected, Nelson said.

Dozens of volunteers and a sheriff's search-and-rescue crew had scoured several areas in San Diego and Riverside counties to no avail.

NBC4's Jane Yamamoto contributed to this report.

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