An Orange County resident was found dead in Death Valley National Park June 14 after running out of gas and walking in the scorching heat, authorities said.
Park visitors driving along State Route 190 stumbled upon the body of David Kelleher, 67, of Huntington Beach around 2 p.m. on Tuesday.
Kelleher’s body was found just 30 feet from the highway, and was “very easy to overlook,” since the body was obscured by terrain and a mesquite tree, National Park Service spokeswoman Abby Wines told The Epoch Times.
A few days ago, park rangers issued an investigation and search for Kelleher after a ranger noticed an irregularity on June 8 and 10—a sole vehicle parked in the Zabriskie Point parking lot.
This was “not a normal place to leave a vehicle for multiple days,” Wines said. “Just the fact it was there for that long was suspicious.”
Rangers investigated and found that Kelleher had not been reported missing.
Authorities launched a ground and aerial search, dispatching a U.S. Navy helicopter and personnel from various agencies—the National Park Service, Inyo County Sheriff’s Office, and Inyo County Coroner’s Office.
The search was limited by hot weather and focused on the Golden Canyon and Badlands Trails, not where he was later found.
A crumpled note was found in Kelleher’s vehicle that read “Out of gas.”
A park ranger cited Kelleher on May 30 for off-road driving. Kelleher had also mentioned to the ranger being low on gas.
Kelleher apparently walked 2.5 miles from the vehicle toward Furnace Creek in extreme heat. A heat wave caused record temperatures, up to 123 Fahrenheit degrees, on June 10.
Cellphones don’t have service in most parts of Death Valley, Wines said.
In extreme heat, people should wait in a broken vehicle, rather than attempting to walk for assistance, Wines said.
It is “completely reasonable” to visit Death Valley National Park in the summer heat, she said, but extra precautions are required. “Don’t push it,” and stay within a 5-minute walk from your vehicle or an air conditioner, she said.
The National Park Service encourages park visitors to stay safe in the summer by not hiking at low elevations after 10 a.m., staying within a short walk of air conditioning, drinking plenty of water, and eating salty snacks.
This is the park’s second fatality in the last month. John McCarry, 69, of Long Beach, was found deceased in Panamint Valley on June 1.
A search also started on May 23 for Peter Harootunian, whose vehicle was noticed by National Park Service staff abandoned in Emigrant Campground. Harootunian has not been found, and the search has been scaled back to limited and continuous.
