A Silver Lake couple who left for a road trip to the desert on Saturday and then were not heard from again have been found safe in Mexico, according to NBC 4.
Aaron Morganstein, 33, and Mariya “Masha” Mitkova, 27, were located in good health and “will be reunited with their family,” police said in a statement Friday.
There were no other details released.
The couple left their house on Saturday afternoon and told a friend they were at the Cabazon In-N-Out Burger about 6 pm. They said they were on their way to Imperial Sand Dunes before hooking up with that friend in Joshua Tree.
The couple’s friends hired a private helicopter company this week, notes the Daily News. They also had set up a GoFundMe, which raised over $25,000 to help find them.
Update – 3:59 pm: A friend of the couple, Briana Gonzales, emailed the LA Times about what she says happened to the couple:
Gonzales said the couple were at the Hugh T. Osborne Lookout Park in Imperial County on Sunday and left their car to go on a day hike and take photos.
This was also the last time the pair had a wireless Internet signal, Gonzales wrote.
“They got lost while out on their hike and could see a red light flashing in the distance so they started walking [in that] direction,” Gonzales wrote.
Mitkova and Morganstein spent five days walking in the desert without food and with little water.
“In order [to] conserve their water they also drank their own urine,” Gonzales’ email states. “They saw helicopters flying, and actually were able to light a fire to get attention but no one was able to see them.”
Eventually the couple was able to walk to a cellphone tower where maintenance workers contacted authorities, claims Gonzales.
Image: NBC 4
