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Stepdad Dies Trying to Get Help as Boy, 14, Dies on Trail

Tragedy in Big Bend National Park started with extreme heat
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 26, 2023 12:20 AM CDT
Updated Jun 26, 2023 2:16 AM CDT
Boy, 14, Dies on Trail; Stepdad Dies in Crash Trying to Get Help
A view of Big Bend National Park   (Getty Images / LeongKokWeng)

Texas' Big Bend National Park hit 119 degrees Friday, which led to a double tragedy for a Florida family out hiking. After a 14-year-old boy lost consciousness during the trek, his stepfather hiked back to their vehicle to try to get help while the boy's older brother, 21, tried to carry the teen back to the trailhead, CNN reports. After a call for emergency assistance came in to the park's communications center around 6pm, officials say, "Park Rangers and US Border Patrol Agents reached the scene at approximately 7:30pm and located the young victim deceased along the trail." Just 30 minutes after that, they found the family's vehicle at the Boquillas Overlook, where it had crashed over an embankment—and the teen's stepdad, 31, was dead inside, NBC DFW reports. The condition of the 21-year-old was not reported.

"The Marufo Vega Trail winds through extremely rugged desert and rocky cliffs within the hottest part of Big Bend National Park," the park service said in a warning to visitors. "No shade or water makes this strenuous trail dangerous to attempt in the heat of summer. Big Bend is currently experiencing extreme heat with daily highs reaching 110-119 (degrees) at low elevations and along the Rio Grande." The day after the tragedy, an extreme heat advisory was put in place for parts of the national park, and hikers were advised to be off trails in the afternoon, KWTX reports. (More Texas stories.)

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