The two young men left a Randsburg, California, hotel about 2:30 a.m. Sunday, telling their girlfriends where they were headed and saying they'd be back within a few hours.

The two planned to travel by ATV about 15 miles to the Cuddeback Dry Lake Bed in San Bernardino County, an expansive and popular "off-roading" area.

It was a "dark, moonless night," said Carbonaro's father, Robert Carbonaro, who worried as the search was under way that the two "may have gotten disoriented."

Carbonaro said he was worried about abandoned gold mine shafts in the area. But Kern County authorities said the bodies were found in a ravine area with rugged, steep terrain.