Arizona couple found dead at Lake Mead identified

Authorities have released the names of the northwest Arizona couple who apparently died of exposure after their vehicle became disabled in a remote location within the Lake Mead National Recreation Area.

The Mohave County medical examiner's office identified the victims as Ronald John Ryan, 66, and Nancy Engebretsen, 65, of Golden Valley, said Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Trish Carter.

The National Park Service said a passerby discovered the bodies late Sunday afternoon in a minivan that got stuck in dirt on Spring Wash Road in the Temple Bar area at the south end of Lake Mead.

Spokeswoman Christie Vanover said the couple had little water and that there was no cellphone service in the area.

Autopsy results are pending but it is suspected that Ryan and Engebretsen died of "environmental exposure," Carter said.