Father, daughter die at Canyonlands National Park after running out of water in 100-degree heat
FILE-The Grand View Point Overlook provides a wide view of the Colorado River and Green River confluence from the Island in the Sky section of the Park on October 5, 2023 near Moab, Utah. Canyonlands National Park, one of the Fabulous Five Utah Parks
MOAB, Utah - Rangers say a father and his daughter died Friday after getting lost in Utah's Canyonlands National Park and running out of water in triple-digit temperatures.
According to the National Park Service, the 52-year-old man and his 23-year-old daughter from Green Bay, Wisconsin, were hiking on the Syncline Trail when they got lost and ran out of water.
The air temperature in Moab on Friday afternoon was 100 degrees. Like much of the western U.S. facing a deadly heat wave, Moab is under a heat advisory. Air temperatures are forecast to hit 105 degrees on Sunday.
Rangers with the National Park Service said San Juan County Dispatchers received a 911 text from a person in the Island of the Sky district of Canyonlands on Friday afternoon.
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Rangers and the Bureau of Land Management Moab District Helitack personnel responded to the emergency call and initiated a search for the father and daughter. By the time the pair were found, they were already dead, according to the NPS.
San Juan County Sheriff's Office and NPS are investigating the incident.
The tragedy marks the latest fatalities this summer at National Parks in the West. Several hikers unprepared for triple-digit temperatures have died in Arizona's Grand Canyon National Park. In California, a motorcycle rider died when temperatures soared to 128 degrees in Death Valley.
National Park Service rangers advise visitors to avoid hiking during peak heating in the afternoon and to bring ample water on hikes.