Extreme heat blamed for man's death in Death Valley
Officials are warning the public not to hike the park's lower elevation trails as temperatures have exceeded 110 degrees every day this month.
LEARN MOREPosted: 8:57 p.m. EDT Jul 23, 2023
Two female hikers were found dead in Valley of Fire State Park in southern Nevada on Saturday.
Witnesses reported seeing the women enter the park in the morning, but they did not reemerge, prompting concern among fellow hikers, Nevada State Police told CNN. Hikers then proceeded to contact authorities in the afternoon to conduct a welfare check.
Police arrived at approximately 2:48 p.m. local time and subsequently discovered one of the women's bodies on the trail, while the other was found in the canyon.
Scripps News has contacted the police to obtain additional information regarding the cause of these deaths but has not heard back.
According to multiple news reports, the Nevada State Police have refrained from disclosing any information regarding the identities of the hikers or providing insights into the potential cause of their deaths. However, this news comes as the state remains under an "excessive heat warning," and the temperature on Saturday in Overton, where the park is located, reached 114 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the National Weather Service.
Furthermore, the Clark County Coroner's Office confirmed to Scripps News Las Vegas earlier this week that Las Vegas, which is about a 60-minute drive from Overton, has seen at least 16 heat-related deaths so far this year.
The deaths come just days after a 71-year-old man collapsed and died outside a restroom on the Golden Canyon hiking trail in Death Valley National Park, where the temperature reached 121 degrees Fahrenheit.
