Tragic Loss: Father and Daughter Die of Dehydration in 100-Degree Heat at Canyonlands National Park

Rangers report that a father and daughter died after becoming lost in Utah Canyonlands National Park in temperatures of triple digits and running out of water.

The National Park Service reports that the 52-year-old man from Green Bay and his daughter, 23, were hiking along the Syncline trail when they became lost and ran out of water.

On Friday afternoon, the air temperature in Moab was 100 degrees. Moab, like much of the western U.S. that is experiencing a deadly heatwave, is under a heat warning. On Sunday, temperatures will reach 105 degrees.

San Juan County Dispatchers, according to National Park Service Rangers, received a text message from a person on Friday afternoon in the Island of the Sky District of Canyonlands.

The Bureau of Land Management Moab District Helitack and Rangers responded to the call for help and began searching for the father. The NPS reported that the father and daughter were already deceased when they were located.

The incident is being investigated by the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office as well as NPS.

This tragedy is the latest in a series of fatalities that have occurred at National Parks across the West this summer. In Arizona’s Grand Canyon National Park, several hikers who were not prepared for temperatures in the triple digits have died. A motorcycle rider in California died after temperatures reached 128 degrees Fahrenheit in Death Valley.

National Park Service rangers recommend that visitors avoid hiking in the afternoon when temperatures are at their highest and bring plenty of water with them on hikes.