The Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office announced on Monday, July 29, that a hiker died on the evening of Saturday, July 27, on the Parsons Trail, five miles north of Clarkdale near the confluence of Sycamore Creek and the Verde River. At 7:30 p.m., YCSO responded to a call from a woman who said her 69- year-old father had died.
On arrival, deputies learned the group had been at the nearby swimming hole throughout the day in the 100-degree heat. When they began to hike out of the area, the man collapsed after hiking about half a mile from the trailhead. His family members tried calling 911, but cellphone service was poor, and CPR was not effective.
“[The death] was called at 8:35 p.m.” YCSO spokesman Paul Wick said.
It appears that dehydration and high blood pressure were related to the cause of death. Due to the remote location and a steep hike out of the trail, Yavapai County Search and Rescue volunteers were called out for the recovery and transported the man’s body to the Yavapai County Medical Examiner’s Office. His name has not yet been released.
