(Amber Ferguson/The Washington Post) 
 
 Ron and Mary Tarnowski spent their days confined almost entirely to their home in Duluth, Minn. 
 
 Decades ago, at age 42, Mary Tarnowski suffered from a stroke that left her paralyzed on the right side of her body, making it difficult for her to move or speak. The couple hardly ever left the home, which their son, Karl Tarnowski, built adjacent to his own so he could keep an eye on them. They generally spent most of their time at home, going out only for an occasional meal at nearby restaurants. A post on the Find Ron and Mary Tarnowski Facebook page stated, "It is with great sadness that we must report that Ron and Mary Tarnowski have been found deceased in a remote area about a mile from their hunting camp." “The family would like to thank the many men and women of law enforcement, the active and retired firefighters, the Alzheimer’s Association, and the overwhelming support of the community and the media for the diligent efforts this past week,” the Facebook statement read. A photo of Ron and Mary was taped to their garage with a sign above it: “Missing 8 days.” 
 
 About 20 current and retired Duluth firefighters were among the crowd of volunteers to search for one of their own. More than 100 volunteers, some wearing purple T-shirts and ribbons for Alzheimer’s awareness, gathered in Ron and Mary’s driveway to begin another day of searching for the couple Saturday. “We're not looking for a needle in a haystack, because we haven't found the haystack yet,” Duluth Police Chief Mike Tusken said at a Saturday morning gathering at the Tarnowskis’ home. They were found about a mile from the family’s hunting camp, according to a statement posted on the “Find Ron and Mary Tarnowski” Facebook page that family members had started to aid the search.  A U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Air and Marine Operations helicopter crew discovered the elderly Duluth couple’s vehicle in a remote location at about 3:45 p.m. Saturday, according to the Duluth Police Department. The camp is near U.S. Highway 2 between Brookston and Floodwood, and a few miles from where the couple had been last seen, the Country Corner store. Mary’s Tarnowski’s body was discovered inside the Tahoe, and her husband’s body was found outside the vehicle, about 50 feet from the road. Authorities suspect Ron Tarnowski may have driven onto the trail accidentally before getting his car stuck in the mud, said Lt. Mike Ceynowa, public information officer for the Duluth Police Department. RELATED: Police seek help finding missing Duluth couple 
 
 The autopsy results are pending, but Rasch said it's likely the couple died of exposure. Ron, 82, and Mary, 78, had been last seen July 29 at the Country Corner store along Highway 2. The investigation into the deaths was ongoing Saturday night, but foul play wasn’t suspected. During the Saturday morning gathering, Tusken said the police department’s violent crimes unit, which handles missing person cases, had been working on the case since Day One and had tracked down dozens of leads in six counties and two states. “Nobody wants to lose their parents this way.” 
 
 But in the parents’ final moments, Ceynowa said, Ron Tarnowski “was doing what he’s done for years: trying to help his wife and take care of her.” 
 
 Karl Tarnowski does not know what prompted his parents to drive so far away, but he suspects his father’s dementia played a role. Law enforcement officials studied a gas station’s surveillance video, cross-referencing it with Google Maps and a tip to determine the likelihood that Ron and Mary’s vehicle might have been captured on the video. But throughout these tribulations, Karl Tarnowski said, “their love was outstanding for one another.” 
 
 Ron Tarnowski joined the Air Force before graduating from high school and was stationed in the Philippines for a long time, his son said. “They went everywhere together,” said Mark Lavalier, a retired firefighter who worked with Ron Tarnowski for several years and who assisted with the search efforts. They weren’t carrying cellphones or credit cards when they went missing, and an OnStar system in their vehicle was not activated, which left authorities with few clues to pinpoint a search over the past week.
– "We're not looking for a needle in a haystack, because we haven't found the haystack yet," said the police chief of Duluth, Minnesota, Saturday morning in regards to the case of an elderly couple who had been missing for 8 days. By the afternoon, a helicopter had found both the haystack and the needle, to tragic ends. Ron and Mary Tarnowski were found dead in the Brookston area, near a hunting shack the family owned about 30 miles from Duluth. Foul play isn't suspected. The Washington Post reports the couple lived near one of their sons, Karl Tarnowski, who noticed they uncharacteristically didn't return home on July 29. The Duluth News Tribune reports the couple didn't have cellphones or credit cards on them, nor did their car's OnStar system engage, leaving authorities with little to go on. But there was, perhaps, a general area: Their last sighting had been at 1pm on the day they went missing at a corner store near Brookston. KARE reports the Tarnowskis' Chevy Tahoe was found in a remote area, apparently stuck on what seemed to be a "swampy" trail typically accessed by snowmobilers in the winter. Mary, 78, was in the vehicle; Ron, 82, was outside it, some 50 feet from the road, suggesting he had gone in search of help. Karl tells the Post that it's thought both died the day they went missing; Mary is believed to have succumbed to dehydration and heat. The couple is depicted as a devoted one: A stroke at age 42 left Mary paralyzed on her right side; Ron was constantly by her side, but had himself begun to show early signs of dementia. (This couple was found 75 years after they went missing.)