WILLOW CREEK, Calif. — California Highway Patrol officials confirmed the two bodies found in a car wreck Thursday were two firefighters reported missing earlier that day.
Times-Standard reported that the two U.S. Forest Service firefighters were last known to be in a private vehicle driving late Wednesday night after work.
Their disappearance was reported when they didn’t show up to work on Thursday morning.
A preliminary investigation indicates the vehicle drove off a road sometime between Wednesday night and Thursday afternoon, according to the report. The wreck was discovered just after 2 p.m. Thursday sitting upside down in Trinity River near Kimtu Beach, outside of Willow Creek.
The vehicle was down a cliff about 200 feet from a highway.
The Hoopa (Calif.) Tribal Police and the Salyer (Calif.) Volunteer Fire Department responded with boats for the rescue since the vehicle was inaccessible from either river bank, according to the report.
The names of the victims are being withheld until their families are notified. The CHP investigation into the crash is ongoing.