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Death Valley's Sand Dunes Claim A Hiker

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Published Date

November 9, 2021

A woman who hiked into the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes died on her hike/NPS file

A 27-year-old woman who headed out into Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes at Death Valley National Park for a hike of a couple hours was found dead roughly a mile-and-a-half from her vehicle.

Park officials said Monday that the woman and her aunt started their hike from the sand dune parking lot around 11 a.m. on Saturday. The pair split up around 11:30 a.m.; the aunt returned to the parking lot and the woman, an experienced hiker, said she would return in one or two hours.  

After a few hours, the aunt hiked back into the dunes but was unable to locate her niece. She contacted park rangers around 5 p.m. to report her niece overdue. Park rangers searched unsuccessfully that evening. A larger group of park rangers searched the next morning. Around 9 a.m. Sunday one of the search teams found tracks matching the missing woman’s hiking boots.  

The deceased woman was found at 9:22 a.m. She was in the flats north of the sand dunes, about 1 ½ miles from the parking lot. Park staff used a wheeled litter to carry her body to the parking area.  

The Inyo County Coroner’s Office was investigating the matter. However, foul play is not suspected, a park release said.

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Comments

Submitted by Rainer Moench on December 27, 2021 - 9:33pm.

It is never "impossible" to get lost. It all depends on the situation and circumstances. 


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