Missing NorCal Pair Found Dead In Vehicle Weeks After Taking Day Trip

YUBA CITY, CA — A man and a woman from Yuba City were found dead in a crashed vehicle after they were reported missing on Aug. 7, authorities said.

Shortly after 5 p.m. on Thursday, a man reportedly called 911 after finding a vehicle that had crashed in the area of Highway 20 and Poker Flats Road in Nevada County, according to the Nevada County Sheriff's Office.

Arriving officers from the California Highway Patrol and the sheriff's office were pointed to a vehicle down an embankment by a the 911 caller. The vehicle was not visible from the highway.

Once first responders climbed down to the vehicle, they discovered a man and a woman, both dead, deputies said.

"Due to the nature of injuries," the man could only be tentatively identified as 36-year-old Juan Almanza Zavala. The woman was identified as 29-year-old Janette Pantoja, authorities said.

Both were previously reported missing on Aug. 7 to the Nevada County Sheriff's Office and the Yuba City Police Department.

The CHP was conducting a vehicle accident investigation.

Janette and Zavala reportedly went to Reno for a car show event called Hot August Nights on Aug. 6 and intended to return that same night but never did, KCRA reported.