A 57-year-old woman died while attempting to hike eight miles in Grand Canyon National Park during 100-degree heat.
Melanie Hamling, whose identity was confirmed by park authorities, was hiking with another person near the Tuweep area of the park Sunday when she fell unconscious. By the time help arrived, Hamling had died.
'My best friend, partner, and all-around amazing human, Melanie Staples Hamling passed away Sunday from heat exhaustion during a hike in the grand canyon,' Hamling's partner Russ James wrote on social media.
'I am heart-broken, lost, and unsure how to go on without her. She was so kind and befriended everybody she met. There are no words.'
Hamling was hiking with a friend when she was overcome by the heat and it took hours for help to arrive at the scene.
As cell phones do not work in the remote area, the other unidentified hiker left Hamling to seek help.
When the ranger located Hamling around 1am on Monday, she was pronounced dead at the scene and no resuscitation efforts were made.
'All our rangers are a minimum of EMT level trained, if resuscitation efforts were warranted they would have been used.
'This is an extremely remote area with only one full-time ranger covering tens of thousands of acres of vast canyon with unpaved roads,' a National Park spokesperson explained.
The tragedy has highlighted the real dangers of hiking in extreme heat, especially for those not acclimated, the Grand Canyon official told DailyMail.com.
Hikers are advised by park rangers not to hike the inner canyon between 10am and 4pm during the summer months, as parts of the trail can reach over 120 degrees.
The temperature in the Tuweep area on Sunday was more than 100 degrees and reached nearly 114 degrees in some spots, according to the park service.
An excessive heat warning will remain in place through Wednesday, the service confirmed.
An investigation into the incident by the park service and the Mohave County Medical Examiner is ongoing.
It comes less than two weeks after a
stepfather and one of his stepsons died while hiking in extreme heat in Big Bend National Park in southwest Texas.
They had ventured out with the boy's 21-year-old brother, battling 120-degree heat, to take on the challenging Marufo Vega Trail when the teenager lost consciousness.
Panicked and desperate to find help, the 31-year-old from Florida ran back to their vehicle.
He drove off, looking for help, but lost control and ended up driving over a popular tourist overlook. He had died by the time police found him.
The 14-year-old's older brother was carrying him back to the trailhead when he too died.
While the results of their autopsies are yet to become public, investigators believe he may too have died because of the heat.
More than 600 people in the United States are killed by extreme heat every year, data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states.
A 2021 study found that heat-related deaths have soared 74 percent since since 1980.
A 57-year-old woman died while attempting to hike eight miles in Grand Canyon National Park in 100 degree heat.
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