Man Found Dead, His Wife Hospitalized After Elderly Couple Vanished Into Nevada Desert For 10 Days

An elderly Indianapolis couple who vanished into the Nevada desert 10 days ago has finally been found by a rescue team. Unfortunately, the husband was found dead and his wife had to be airlifted to a nearby hospital for immediate treatment after their wasteland ordeal.

Ronnie Barker, 72, and his 69-year-old wife, Beverly, were reported missing on March 27 after driving through western Nevada. They were found by rescuers on Tuesday, April 5.

On Tuesday, April 5, at around 11:30 a.m., a rescue team located the couple’s abandoned RV in a remote mountain area of Esmeralda County near Silver Peak, Nevada. The vehicle was reportedly stuck in a muddy area and it took several hours for responders to reach it. However, the Kia car that they had been towing behind the RV had been removed by the time rescuers reached the area, New York Post reported.

Barker and Beverly were not immediately found after the RV was spotted. Officers subsequently reconfigured their search to look for the couple's white Kia Soul and later found the couple together inside the SUV about two miles from their RV a few hours later.

When the rescue team stumbled upon the couple, Barker was already dead at the scene. However, Beverly, who was still alive, reportedly appeared to be in good spirits in light of what happened and despite the death of her husband. She was airlifted out of the desert to a hospital in Reno for immediate treatment, the Indianapolis Star reported.

Meanwhile, hours after the couple was located, their children received a text message from one of the couple's phones asking them for help.

“A single text message was received to Ronnie and Bev’s daughters,” their nephew, Travis Peters, said. “That text message was trying to send out and I can only assume that as Bev was airlifted to the hospital, or perhaps their belongings were brought down the mountain, that message finally came through. But now we know it arrived too late.”

Beverly is currently undergoing treatment at Reno hospital. However, her exact health condition wasn’t immediately disclosed to the public.

Barker and Beverly had set off on a cross-country road trip last month and were en route to meet friends in Tucson, Arizona, when they disappeared. The couple, who both suffered from diabetes and several other health conditions, was due to return home to Indianapolis this week.