Father, daughter die at Utah’s Canyonlands National Park after running out of water on hike in 100-degree heat
A father and his adult daughter were found dead Friday at Canyonlands National Park in Utah after the pair got lost while hiking and ran out of water in triple-digit temperatures, officials said.
The 52-year-old man and 23-year-old woman, both from Green Bay, Wisconsin, had been hiking on the Syncline Trail when San Juan County Dispatch received a 911 text from a person at the park’s Island in the Sky district, the National Park Service (NPS) said.
Officials said the air temperature during the father and daughter’s hike soared over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and the pair had gotten lost and run out of water.
Park rangers and personnel from the Bureau of Land Management in Moab immediately launched a search operation for the lost father and daughter.
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A Wisconsin father and his adult daughter got lost and ran out of water on a trail at Canyonlands National Park in Utah as temperatures soared over 100 F. By the time rescuers located the pair, the were already dead, officials said. (Giovanni Mereghetti/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images, File)
When searchers eventually located the two hikers, they were already dead, according to NPS.
“While temperatures remain high this summer, park visitors are advised to carry and drink plenty of water and avoid strenuous activity during midday heat,” the NPS said.
The air temperature at Canyonlands National Park in Utah soared over 100 F on Friday. (Andrew Lloyd/Loop Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images, File)
The NPS and San Juan County Sheriff’s Office are investigating the deaths. No further details were immediately available.
The two deaths come as a third hiker was found dead at Snow Canyon State Park in Utah on Friday.
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First responders were called to Snow Canyon State Park around 3:30 p.m. for two individuals suffering from a heat-related incident, the Santa Clara-Ivins Public Safety Department said.
A 30-year-old woman was found dead at Snow Canyon State Park in Utah on Friday. (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images for IRONMAN, File)
As the two individuals were located and treated, a passerby alerted first responders to a third individual who was unconscious nearby. Rescuers found the individual, identified as a 30-year-old woman, and determined she was dead.
At least three other heat-related deaths have been reported in national parks within recent weeks.
On July 6, a motorcyclist died, and a second was hospitalized while riding through Death Valley National Park in California as temperatures soared to highs of 128 degrees.
On July 7, a 50-year-old hiker from Texas died while attempting to reach the south rim of the Grand Canyon in Arizona. Less than two weeks earlier, a 69-year-old hiker from Texas collapsed and later died at Grand Canyon National Park while hiking in the extreme heat.
