Woman missing for two weeks found alive in car, husband dead
A woman who went missing two weeks ago after she and her husband set off for a Mother's Day gathering has been found alive in a remote area where the couple's car was stranded, although her husband did not survive, police said on Tuesday.
Dianna Bedwell, 68, and her husband, Cecil "Paul" Knutson, 79, were last seen in their car leaving a San Diego-area casino on May 10, heading to the Palm Springs area to celebrate Mother's Day with Bedwell's family.
Police said the couple appeared to have gotten lost in a remote area and their car became stuck on a rugged road after they tried to take a shortcut to Palm Springs.
"It was a miracle she survived," Lieutenant Ken Nelson of the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department said, adding that Bedwell was in serious but stable condition after being found on Saturday. "It is tragic that her husband did not."
"They survived on foodstuffs they had brought with them – oranges and a pie," Nelson said. "They set containers outside and captured rain to drink - it's very rare to have rain here in May, but that's what kept them alive."
Bedwell's family joined the sheriff's department in days of searching for them, but the couple was not located for two weeks. The family also set up a Facebook page where people left messages of support and comfort.
Nelson said the couple's car was not initially spotted by searchers because it was in an area filled with brush and trees, and could not be spotted from the air. It was also miles from any real road.
On Saturday, off-road enthusiasts on all-terrain vehicles found the couple in their car in a remote northwestern San Diego County location on the Los Coyotes Reservation, about 32 kilometres from the casino. Knutson was already dead.
"We were surprised that they were able to get their sedan to where they'd driven," Nelson said. "They were trying to take a shortcut to Palm Springs and got on a dirt road that eventually turned into a trail and then just ended."
"They were in an area that has absolutely no cell phone coverage. We were having a hard time with our communications out there," he added.
News break - May 27
