Missing 60-year-old hiker spent night alone in desert exhausted from heat, AZ cops say
A 60-year-old solo hiker had to hunker down in the desert for a night after getting heat exhausted, Arizona deputies said.
Kyoko Runningbear left her home at about 5 a.m. Monday, Aug. 12, the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
She went to Gold Canyon and left her vehicle at the Cloudview Trailhead, deputies said.
But she never returned from her trek and was reported missing.
Authorities found Runningbear’s vehicle still parked at the trailhead, so rescuers spread out to look for her, deputies said.
They searched through the night and into the early morning until she was discovered via a helicopter at about 8 a.m. Aug. 13, the sheriff’s office told McClatchy News by email.
Runningbear had fallen and was suffering from the heat, so deputies said she couldn’t make it back to her vehicle on her own.
She was found about 3 miles from the trailhead and was taken to a hospital, deputies said.
Gold Canyon is an unincorporated community that’s about a 40-mile drive southeast of Phoenix.
This story was originally published August 14, 2024 at 6:08 PM with the headline "Missing 60-year-old hiker spent night alone in desert exhausted from heat, AZ cops say."
