Crews Work at Recovering Car of SF Valley Couple Who Went Missing Enroute to Big Sur

LOS ANGELES – Authorities in San Luis Obispo County Thursday were working to recover the car of a North Hollywood couple who went missing on a pre-Christmas road trip to Big Sur, a day after the woman's body was positively identified.

Olivia Hannah Gonzalez, 20, and Brian Fernandez, 21, left Dec. 23 with their two dogs on what was to be a weekend trip. They had been expected home on Christmas Day, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.

On Tuesday, the Honda Civic the couple took on their trip was found over the side of the roadway, and the woman's body was found nearby, along with the remains of one of the dogs, a light brown Labrador retriever mix.

The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Department reported at midday Thursday that the remains of the couple's other dog had been found, as well, but Fernandez remains missing.

Firefighters were called about 3:35 p.m. Tuesday to the crash scene south of Ragged Point in the San Simeon area, which was spotted by a helicopter crew, said Tony Cipolla of the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Department.

Gonzalez's body was recovered by rescue crews on Tuesday night and was positively identified on Wednesday afternoon.

She and one of the dogs were found about 15 feet from the car, which was about 325 feet over the side of PCH, California Highway Patrol Officer Patrick Seebart said.

Cipolla said the vehicle was found right at the surfline and Fernandez' body could have been ejected into the ocean, so sheriff's dive teams searched the water while search-and-rescue teams traversed steep, rocky terrain.

After daybreak today, crews began the arduous effort to recover the car and determine if Fernandez' body was at the scene, the CHP reported.

Sheriff's detectives were looking for clues as to what happened, although no conclusions have been reached, Cipolla said.

Gonzalez's grieving sister Vanessa told KNX Newsradio that she set up a GoFundMe account to help their family. "We are going to need to bring her back this way and you know, give her a nice burial," she said.

"Olivia was my beautiful and smart sister, she was an amazing person and my best friend," Vanessa wrote on the fundraising page. "Every time we look at the sun shining down on us we will think of you. You were the light in many people's lives and always smiling and there to make so many others smile. Our family is shaken to the core at this time."

To date, $5,795 has been raised toward the $20,000 goal. View page here.

• ALSO SEE: Crashed Helicopter Found Off L.A. Coast; Victims Inside. BREAKING: One victim is believed to be highly regarded photographer Michael Justice, who was on assignment taking aerial shots of harbor.

--City News Service contributed to this report/Images courtesy of Olivia Hannah Gonzalez's GoFundMe page and the LAPD