Car removed from Ragged Point crash site
UPDATE 1/6/17 10:00 AM: On Thursday, search and rescue crews were able to recover the wreckage of a car that drove off the side of Highway 1 near Ragged Point. The bodies of Olivia Gonzales and two dogs have been recovered. Brian Fernandez is still missing.
The couple disappeared on a trip to Big Sur December 23, 2016.
ORIGINAL STORY 1/5/2017: The search for 21-year-old Brian Fernandez continues near Ragged Point where the body of Olivia Hannah Gonzalez, 20, was discovered on Jan. 3. The couple had been missing since Christmas.
SLO County Sheriff’s Office investigators, Search and Rescue personnel, from both the San Luis Obispo County and Monterey County Sheriff’s Offices, Public Safety Divers from the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Underwater Search and Recovery Dive Team and California Highway Patrol investigators continue to gather information and evidence.
On Thursday, the Sheriff’s Office says a deceased second dog has been recovered from the crash site off Highway 1, about a mile south of the Ragged Point Inn.
“Because of the difficulties associated with the location of the scene, combined with inclement weather, details of the event are slowly being discovered and evaluated,” said Stuart MacDonald, SLO County Sheriff’s Office.
The search and recovery efforts have been hampered by rough terrain and recent weather conditions.
The Coroner’s Office performed an autopsy on Gonzalez on Wednesday. Those results are pending.
