SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Three hikers died over the weekend from suspected heat-related illnesses in Utah state and national parks, including a father and daughter who became lost during a grueling hike in Canyonlands National Park where temperatures reached triple digits.
The 23-year-old daughter and her 52-year-old father texted 911 to say they were lost and out of water while hiking the 8.1-mile (13-kilometer) Syncline Loop, which the National Park Service describes as the most difficult trail in the Island in the Sky area of the park in southeastern Utah. The couple set out on Friday in temperatures above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius), navigating steep, zigzagging paths and clambering over rocky terrain with few trail markers.
Park rangers and Bureau of Land Management helicopter crews began searching early Friday evening for the missing hikers, who were already dead. The San Juan County Sheriff’s Office identified them Monday as Albino Herrera Espinosa and his daughter, Beatrice Herrera, of Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Due to the rugged terrain, deputies used a helicopter to remove the body from the park and deliver it to the state medical examiner on Saturday morning, according to the sheriff’s office. The local sheriff and the National Park Service are investigating the cause of death, which they believe to be heat stroke.
Late Saturday, emergency crews in southwestern Utah responded to a call about two hikers “suffering from heat exhaustion” in Snow Canyon State Park, known for its lava tubes, sand dunes and canyons made of red and white Navajo sandstone.
A multi-agency search team found and treated two hikers suffering from heatstroke. While they were being treated, a passing hiker reported an unconscious person nearby. Emergency personnel found the body of a 30-year-old woman, according to public safety officials.
Her death is being investigated by the Santa Clara Ivins Department of Public Safety. Her identity has not been released.
Tourists continue to flock to parks in Utah and other Southwestern states during the hottest months of the year, but officials are warning that hiking in the scorching heat poses serious health risks. Earlier this month, a Texas man died while hiking in Grand Canyon National Park, where temperatures can exceed 120 degrees Fahrenheit (49 degrees Celsius) on exposed parts of the trails during the summer.