The Presba family mystery keeps expanding.

One month after human remains were found in Ronald Presba's burned SUV 300 feet down a ravine, his wife, Patricia, is missing.

And even as El Dorado County detectives traveled Friday to Salt Lake City to question two people found at an airport hotel with a car linked to Patricia Presba, not much had been cleared up in this foothills mystery.

"It's got some twists to it," El Dorado Sheriff's Sgt. Bryan Golmitz said.

Patricia Presba, 47, was reported missing Thursday morning after a friend went to the family's Georgetown-area home on Meadow Brook Road and found the front door open and covered in blood, Golmitz said.

When deputies arrived, they found more blood inside the home. No one was inside, and a search of the property by dog teams came up empty, Golmitz said.

Authorities quickly labeled Patricia Presba's disappearance suspicious, especially in light of last month's events, where foul play is suspected.

"There are a lot of scenarios that could have played out," Golmitz said.

Detectives were hoping to gain some clarity by heading to Salt Lake City.

A vehicle found at a Motel 6 appeared to be a 2003 Hyundai Tiburon associated with Patricia Presba, authorities said. Golmitz could not confirm the identity of a man and woman taken into custody with the car or whether they are connected to the Presba case.

According to Salt Lake City media outlets, the man taken into custody had three gunshot wounds and the woman had stab wounds to her arm.

"I would surmise that (detectives) would be going to meet with individuals surrounding yesterday's events," Golmitz said. "And whatever information they can glean from them in regard to last month's incident."

Golmitz said Patricia Presba has not been listed as a suspect, but said she is included in the investigation of her husband's disappearance.

"We're obviously going to start with the closest people," he said.

Golmitz and authorities in Salt Lake City would not expand on the case late Friday. "Truthfully," Golmitz said, "this is a pivotal point in the investigation."

Investigators are still trying to figure out how Ronald Presba's Chevrolet Suburban wound up at the bottom of a ravine along Highway 193 near Kelsey on June 25.

Human remains were found on the passenger-side floor of the SUV, but tests have still not determined who the victim was, Golmitz said.

Golmitz said only skeletal remains were left and had to be removed with a shovel. It could take months for the victim to be identified.

"It was like a cremation in there," he said. "It was the worst that I've ever seen."

Sheriff's deputies found blood markings on the roadway near where the truck crashed, leading them to believe foul play was involved in the occupant's death.

A white cross stands near those markings, and among the handwritten memorials left on the cross is a passage from Presba's wife.

"My Loving Husband, you where (sic) the Glue that held our family together," the note reads. "The twinkle in your Blue Eyes will forever shine. You are my Soul Mate until we meet again. Love Always, Your Wife Patty."

The Presba house sits atop a graded gravel driveway to the left of a roughly 2-acre parcel. To the right, an expansive vegetable and flower garden is in full summer bloom.

On Friday, two women and two small children tended to the garden, which was Ron Presba's rediscovered hobby.

"Dad called it his zen garden," said April, 35, who requested her last name not be printed because of the circumstances surrounding her father's disappearance. "This was his garden of joy."

April said her 54-year-old father started gardening again recently after 17 years. Presba worked as an independent contractor, doing backhoe work for people in "The Divide" – the term locals use for the communities scattered along Highway 193.

Family members have received no news about Ronald Presba. No confirmation of his death. No closure.

"We have no answers, nothing," his daughter said. "It's horrible."

Berdell Thompson, a friend of Presba's since 1978, spoke of his beautiful blue eyes and a smile "like there was a joke and he was in on it."

"There's always people you think, 'Yeah, I could see them doing something to deserve this,' " she said. "There's no way on Earth Ron deserved what happened to him."

The Presba family has lived in the community since 1955, April said, and was well known and liked by many.

Patricia Presba was Ronald's third wife, she said. He has stepchildren from his second and third marriages and four biological grandchildren, she said.

April said she spoke to Patricia – whom she calls Patty – on Sunday and everything seemed fine.

"It was as normal as normal could be," she said.

Patricia Presba works at the California Conservation Corps camp in Greenwood. April declined talking further about her stepmother.

She said her father's presumed death, and now her stepmother's disappearance, is taking a toll on her family.

"It's just really hard," she said. "I just want answers."

Call The Bee's Niesha Lofing, (916) 321-1270. Director of Editorial Research Pete Basofin contributed to this report.