MOAB, Utah — Two people were found dead Friday in Canyonlands National Park after they got lost while hiking and ran out of water in triple-digit temperatures.
Days after their bodies were discovered, on Monday, the hikers were identified as Albino Herrera Espinoza and his daughter, Beatriz Herrera, both from Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Local news outlets in Green Bay report the father was the owner of a well-known Mexican food restaurant called "El Sarape."
The 23-year-old woman and her 52-year-old father sent a "911 text," according to the National Park Service, saying they got lost while hiking and ran out of water. The air temperature in the area was over 100 degrees, the NPS said.
They were hiking on the Syncline Trail in the "Island in the Sky" area.
Park rangers and a helicopter crew with the Bureau of Land Management responded and began their search for the lost hikers. They found them, but officials said they were already dead.
Due to the remote area and rugged terrain, officials used a helicopter to hoist the bodies out of the national park and to the Office of the Medical Examiner on Saturday morning..
Their deaths are being investigated by the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office and the NPS.
"While temperatures remain high this summer, park visitors are advised to carry and drink plenty of water and avoid strenuous activity during midday heat," the NPS advised in Saturday's announcement of the tragic news.
Later on Saturday, the Santa Clara-Ivins Public Safety Department said they had a similar incident. They received a call about two people "suffering from a heat-related incident" at Snow Canyon State Park. A multi-agency team of first responders arrived and rescued the two. But then, a passerby reported that a third person was unconscious nearby. First responders found the individual, a 30-year-old female, and determined that she was deceased.
