California Couple Still Missing After 8 Weeks
Riverside County homicide investigators are now handling the case of a couple gone missing in the Coachella Valley, The Desert Sun reports. The decision is “...based on jurisdictional considerations and the benefits of funneling all new information through a single source… Due to the ongoing status of the investigation, no further information is available,“ Sgt. Jeff Buompensiero said in the press release.
Audrey Moran, 26, of Indio, and Jonathan Reynoso, 28, of Palm Desert were last seen on May 9th when Moran left her sister’s home in Coachella to pick up Reynoso, her boyfriend, from Brawley and give him a ride to his home in Palm Desert.
Strangely, that evening Audrey’s sister received a text of an old photo of the couple from Audrey’s phone. It has not been confirmed the couple was actually together at that point.
Audrey’s family grew concerned when calls to her went unanswered the next day, so they phoned police.
Authorities used OnStar to track down Audrey’s 2010 GMC Terrain SUV. It was parked alongside the westbound lanes of Interstate 10 in Beaumont, about an hour northwest of Coachella and Palm Desert. The SUV had almost a full tank of gas and no obvious signs of damage, according to police. Forensic analysts did not find any signs of foul play inside the vehicle.
Both Moran and Reynoso’s cellphones remain missing. Investigators believe they either died or were turned off, and neither phones pinged outside the Indio or Coachella areas the night the couple was last seen.
Authorities have yet to confirm that Reynoso was last seen in Brawley, and it’s unclear who he was with, if he was indeed there.
A reward is being offered by the families with funds raised through a GoFundMe account. Anyone with information about Jonathan or Audrey’s whereabouts is urged to call the Riverside Sheriff’s Office at (760) 836-1600.