MOAB, Utah (ABC4) — The search for a missing Moab couple has officially transitioned from a ‘rescue’ mission to a ‘recovery’ one, according to Grand County Sheriff Jamison Wiggins.

Ray and Maranda Ankofski have been missing since June 21 after they traveled the Steel Bender off-road trail in Grand County. A search for the couple began after they didn’t return on time and their vehicle was reported as abandoned.

The son of the couple, Raymond Ankofski told ABC4.com earlier this week officials were planning to scale back their response at the end of the week because of the costs associated with the search efforts. According to a press release from Grand County Sheriff’s Office, as of Tuesday, eight agencies were involved in the search.

“Despite exhaustive efforts, including the use of advanced search techniques and resources, Ray and Maranda Ankofski have not been located,” stated a press release from Wiggins. “The decision to transition from a search and rescue mission to a recovery was made based on evidence at the scene during the operation.”

In the days following their disappearance, the couple’s children started a fundraiser via GoFundMe, with the initial goal of raising $25,000 — but Raymond Ankofski explained the money would not be for the family.

“The money is going towards the search and rescue to bring my parents back, and to find my parents,” Rauymond Ankofski said.

The Federal Highway Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation has announced a $20 million grant to Utah.

Drivers of snow plows, public transportation buses, and other government-operated vehicles are using technology that can direct traffic lights to change in order to improve safety and travel time.

Under the “Saving Lives and Connectivity: Accelerating V2X Deployment” program, Utah will receive $20 million of the $60 million that is aimed to improve vehicle technologies. The other $40 million will go to Texas and Arizona.

“Connecting vehicles and infrastructure is a great way for us to be able to take advantage of technology to help improve safety and other outcomes. And Utah’s DOT has been a leader in this space for a long time,” Shailen Bhatt, US Federal Highway Administrator said.

UDOT will use this $20 million to fund projects in Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming, where each state represents different population concentrations and transportation facilities.

Bhatt says protecting personal private information can be one of the challenges when using these types of technology.

“So we will want people to understand what is being exchanged is called a basic safety message of DSM. The vehicle is going to report to the intersection that I’m approaching, and the intersection is going to report back ‘oh, the light is about to turn red or my light is red’, but it’s all anonymous data,” Bhatt said.

The technology is being used in Salt Lake City, where travel time reliability and bus performance have improved.

“It is unequivocal that when you deploy technology, we are able to reduce crashes, we’re able to reduce congestion, we’re able to reduce the amount of time people sit in traffic, and the amount of greenhouse gas emissions from our system. And we look forward to more investments being made on the basis of the data that we get from this initial deployment,” Bhatt said.

Seven members of a youth group hiking in Utah were transported to hospitals on Thursday after lightning struck the ground near them. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints youth group from Salina, Utah, were in the eastern part of Sevier County around 1:45pm local time when a light rain began and the lightning hit, Sevier County Sheriff Nathan Curtis said in a statement. “Approximately 50 youth felt the shock of the lightning,” Curtis said, adding that seven of the young people had “medical concerns due to the electrocution,” per the AP.

Two of the victims had serious symptoms and were flown by helicopter to Primary Children’s Hospital in Lehi, Utah. Five others were transported by ambulance to Sevier Valley Hospital in Richfield and Gunnison Valley Hospital in Gunnison, Curtis said. None of the injuries were considered life-threatening, according to Curtis, who said the other hikers were returned to their families in Salina, about 140 miles south of Salt Lake City. (A man trying to warn kids was killed by a lightning strike on a New Jersey beach.)