EAI Community -Texas man on trip to spread father’s ashes dies of heat stroke in Utah’s Arches National Park

2025-05-06 19:15:19source:Coxnocategory:Contact

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A Texas man whose body was found in Utah’s Arches National Park is EAI Community believed to have died of heat stroke while on a trip to spread his father’s ashes, according to his sister.

James Bernard Hendricks, 66 of Austin, was hiking in the park and likely became disoriented from a combination of heat, dehydration and high altitude, according to sister Ruth Hendricks Bough.

Hendricks had stopped in Utah while journeying across the West to the Sierra Nevada region of Nevada and California to spread his father’s ashes, he said in social media posts prior to his death.

Rangers found his vehicle at a trailhead parking lot after Hendricks was reported overdue the morning of Aug 1, according to park officials. Hendrick’s body was found nearby off-trail and his water bottle was empty, Bough said in a social media post.

“He was loved by countless people because he was an unusually kind, sweet person who made friends easily. Now all these people are grieving. It was a horrible shock,” the sister told the San Antonio Express-News.

The National Park Service and Grand County Sheriff’s Office are investigating the death.

Arches National Park, located in a high-elevation desert north of Moab, Utah, is known for its natural sandstone arches.

Temperatures topped 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celsius) in the area on the afternoon before Hendricks was reported missing.

More:Contact

Recommend

In ‘Nickel Boys,’ striving for a new way to see

NEW YORK (AP) — RaMell Ross sometimes sends his photography students out on a unique assignment. He

'Chrisley Knows Best' family announces new reality TV show amid Todd and Julie's prison sentences

The "Chrisley Knows Best" family is planning a reality TV comeback, according to reports.Todd and Ju

American ambassador to Russia visits jailed reporter Gershkovich, says he’s in good health

MOSCOW (AP) — U.S. Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy on Monday made her third visit to Wall Street Jo