Indiana couple missing in Nevada desert found; one dead, one airlifted

An Indianapolis couple who went missing in the Nevada desert between Las Vegas and Reno have been found, according to authorities, who said the woman was airlifted to a nearby hospital after rescue teams found the husband deceased.

Ronnie Barker, 72, and Beverly Barker, 69, were on a road trip from Albany, Oregon, to Tucson when they went missing March 27.

The couple’s RV was found in a remote mountain area of Esmeralda County near Silver Peak, Nevada, on Tuesday around 11:30 a.m., according to the Esmeralda County Sheriff’s Office.

The RV appeared to be stuck and it took several hours for rescue teams to reach it. Authorities discovered the Kia SUV they were towing was gone, according to the sheriff’s office.

Mineral County Search and Rescue teams followed the tire tracks from the Kia and located the couple about two miles away at 4 p.m. Tuesday.

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Authorities found Ronnie Barker had died, and airlifted Beverly Barker out of the desert to a hospital in Reno, according to the sheriff’s office.

Sheriff’s offices from multiple counties near Silver Peak were involved in the search using helicopters.

"It's high desert, and it's spread out all over the place,” Esmeralda County Sheriff Kenneth Elgan said when asked about the difficulties of searching for the couple. “We have 3,500 square miles and a population of just 1,000 people in Esmeralda County. There's a lot of wide-open spaces and a lot of area to cover.”

Ronnie Barker's official cause of death has not been released as of 3 p.m. Wednesday.

Contact Jake Allen at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @Jake_Allen19.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Missing Indiana couple Ronnie and Beverly Barker found in Nevada