Lakewood Woman, Friend Missing In Joshua Tree National Park
BEAUMONT (CBSLA.com) — Authorities are searching for a Lakewood woman and her friend who went missing after a trip to Joshua Tree National Park over the weekend.
Helen Melnyk, 56, and her friend, Tony Nosow, planned on going off-roading at the park on Saturday.
The pair was reported missing by family members Sunday night when they didn't return home.
Melnyk's daughter, Kristina, said she last spoke with her mother via phone on Saturday morning before the call was dropped.
"I said something to her and I was like, 'Hello?' And she was like, 'Kristina?' And that was it," said Kristina.
According to park spokesman Joe Zarki, a vehicle with a driver matching Nosow's description entered the park on Saturday.
However, officials were unable to find the friends or the man's blue Chevy pickup truck.
Family and friends went to Joshua Tree on Monday to search for Melnyk and Nosow.
"It's just endless desert. It's vast, it's huge. Once you're in there, you feel like an ant," said Kristina.
Melnyk's daughter said she hopes the pair is still alive and simply had car problems or couldn't get a cell phone signal.
"My mom cannot hike and Tony walks with a cane, so he can't hike. He can't go more than 10 feet from the car that he's in," she said.
Kristina said nothing could have prepared her for this situation.
"There is nothing to prepare you when your mom is missing. There is nothing," she said.
