Hiker found dead at Big Bend National Park in Texas after car left parked for days
A hiker was found dead along a trail in Big Bend National Park in Texas after park officials discovered a vehicle that had been parked for days at the trailhead and launched a rescue operation.
In a Monday news release, the National Park Service said the hiker was 24 years old, but did not release the victim's name or any other identifying information. While it was also not specified how the hiker is believed to have died, park officials warned visitors in the news release to be wary of "extreme" temperatures – even in fall months.
Heat exposure has proven deadly to unprepared hikers visiting national parks in the warmer months, park officials have warned. Just since summer, two people died from the heat at Death Valley in California.
“Big Bend National Park staff and partners are saddened by this loss,” Deputy Superintendent Rick Gupman said in a statement. “Our entire park family extends condolences to the hiker’s family and friends.”
Big Bend National Park is located in West Texas, along the U.S.-Mexico border, and spans over 1,250 square miles, more than twice the size of Los Angeles. It encompasses the Chisos Mountains and contains much of the Chihuahuan Desert.
Hiker found on Marufo Vega Trail
The search for the missing hiker began after park rangers discovered a vehicle Sunday that had been parked for multiple days at a trailhead at the park, located in far-west Texas.
Park officials had no record of any overnight backpackers for the area. By Monday morning, aerial and ground teams with the National Park Service and U.S. Border Patrol were deployed to search three different trails in the area.
The victim was later found along the Marufo Vega Trail, a 14-mile loop that is regarded as a challenging hike through rugged desert and along rocky limestone cliffs. A Texas Department of Public Safety helicopter removed the body from the remote area.
Heat, weather, claims lives of multiple hikers
Hazardous weather conditions have claimed the lives of numerous hikers this year at national parks across the U.S.
Earlier this month, the search for a missing employee at Yellowstone National Park turned into a recovery mission after 22-year-old Austin King disappeared while summiting a high peak. When King last made contact with anyone, he had described enduring fog, rain, sleet, hail and windy conditions to reach his destination.
This summer, two people died from heat exposure symptoms after visiting Death Valley, a region that experienced an unprecedented heat wave as temperatures reached highs of about 130 degrees Fahrenheit.
The latest death involved a man who drove a car off a steep embankment on Aug. 1 after taking a one-mile circular hike at the park. The previous month, a motorcyclist also died of heat exposure at Death Valley, a park famous for being one of the hottest, driest places in the United States.
Big Bend in Texas is also famously hot, and the Marufo Vega Trail is a particularly "strenuous, but spectacular" hike meant only for prepared, seasoned hikers, park officials say. In the spring and summer, temperatures regularly swell to 110 degrees Fahrenheit on the trail, where shade and water are elusive, park officials warn.
Even in late October, daily temperatures along the Rio Grande and desert areas of Big Bend can still approach 100 degrees each afternoon. Park Rangers advise those who hike the trail to carry plenty of water, salty snacks, and to plan on being off desert trails by the afternoon.
Big Bend National Park reported 6 deaths in the last 2 years
The discovery of the deceased hiker is the latest fatality reported at the national park, which has reported at least six deaths since October 2023, most of which involved activity during bouts of high heat.
In March of this year, an 80-year-old man from Alpine, Texas, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to the National Park Service.
Last December, a 43-year-old man died after collapsing in the park's Chisos Mountains Lodge. A team of park rangers, volunteers and lodge employees administered CPR and used a defibrillator but could not resuscitate the man, the National Park Service said.
In June 2023, a father and his 14-year-old son, who were visiting from Florida, died after hiking along the park's Marufo Vega Trail in extreme heat, according to the National Park Service. Temperatures at the time were 119 degrees. The park in a statement said "No shade or water makes this strenuous trail dangerous to attempt in the heat of summer."
Three months earlier, a 64-year-old was pronounced dead after she was discovered unresponsive on the Hot Springs Canyon Trail, the National Park Service said. Like the Marufo Vega Trail, the canyon trail has no shade or water, making it dangerous during heat spells.
In February 2023, park personnel responded to the Pinnacles Trail where a 56-year-old man was suffering chest pains. Friends, bystanders and park rangers attempted CPR but "all attempts to revive the patient were unsuccessful," according to the National Park Service.
Between 2014 and 2019, the park recorded 15 deaths, of which at least eight involved hiking or walking, according to data from the National Park Service.
Contributing: Eve Chen, Paste BN
(This story was updated with new information.)