A Wisconsin father and daughter have tragically died during a hike amid scorching temperates in Utah, with reports saying the pair ran out of water.
The heartbreaking incident unfolded in southeastern Utah as a father and daughter from Green Bay, Wisconsin, lost their lives while hiking in Canyonlands National Park.
The 23-year-old woman and her 52-year-old father died after reportedly getting lost and running out of water temperatures exceeding 100°F.
Their peril started to unfold on Friday afternoon (July 12), when a distressing 911 text was received by San Juan County Dispatch from the Island in the Sky district of Canyonlands National Park.
Promptly, both National Park Service rangers and Bureau of Land Management Moab District Helitack personnel initiated a search operation. However, by the time they located the father and daughter, it was sadly too late.
"The hikers were found deceased due to what appeared to be dehydration and heat exhaustion," revealed a spokesperson for the National Park Service, per CBS News.
The names of the victims have not been released pending notification of their families.
The terrain they were navigating, the Syncline Trail, known for its "strenuous" difficulty level, involves "navigating steep switchbacks, climbing and scrambling through boulder fields where trail markers are few and far apart".
Canyonlands National Park, like much of the region, has been grappling with an intense heatwave, setting records and prompting warnings from the National Weather Service about heat-related illnesses.
"While temperatures remain high this summer, park visitors are advised to carry and drink plenty of water and avoid strenuous activity during midday heat," emphasized the National Park Service.
Authorities continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident, working in conjunction with the San Juan County Sheriff's Office to gather more information.
This incident is part of a broader trend of heat-related fatalities across the United States during the ongoing summer heatwaves.
Just days before the tragedy in Utah, temperatures soaring above 100°F led to a fatal incident in California's Death Valley, where a motorcyclist succumbed to heat exposure as the temperature soared to a staggering 128°F.
Additionally, a nine-year-old boy tragically died earlier this month after collapsing during a family hike in the Arizona desert.
According to officials, the heartbreaking incident took place on Tuesday (July 2) after Cortinez Logan went on a trail walk with his family at the South Mountain Park and Preserve near Phoenix.
As temperatures soared into the triple figures, Cortinez went "in and out of consciousness," while being administered CPR and was airlifted to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead.