The remains of a Williamsburg woman missing since June 2018 has been found at Amboy Crater National Landmark in San Bernardino County, California.
Search and rescue members found the remains of Susan Schmierer, 65, on Sunday in the desert wilderness east of the landmark, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department wrote in a news release Friday.
An official cause of death is pending autopsy, the sheriff’s department wrote, but it “appears to be consistent with heat exposure.”
Susan Schmierer and her husband William, 64, were reported missing June 13, 2018 after stopping at Amboy Crater National Landmark while on a road trip to Palm Springs.
The couple had left Williamsburg on May 27, and stopped at the landmark June 2. They were last seen at the Amboy Crater visitor center.
The Schmierers’ car was found June 13 at a trailhead near the crater. Three days later, authorities discovered the body of William Schmierer about a quarter of a mile away from the trailhead.
An autopsy determined William Schmierer died of heat exposure, authorities said.
The area is known for its rugged terrain and extreme heat.
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After William Schmierer was found, more than a dozen search and rescue volunteers spent “thousands of hours” searching for his wife. The family also hired private searchers to scan the area.
The search used helicopters, K9 teams, deputies, detectives, coroner investigators and Bureau of Land Management rangers to search about 36 square miles of the desert area, the sheriff’s department wrote.
The search was hampered multiple times by high daytime temperatures and hard terrain. Ground temperatures in the lava fields exceeded 160 degrees, according to the news release.