- A 33-year-old Californian man died hiking in the Australian outback Wednesday
- He was walking with a companion but ran ahead on the trail and got separated
- Companion raised the alarm before the man’s body was found three hours later
- Police said he had a ‘limited water supply’ given the 108F temperatures
A Californian tourist has died after taking a wrong turn while hiking a popular trail in the Australian outback.
The 33-year-old, who has not been identified, was found dead less than a mile from a parking lot after taking a wrong turn in searing 108F (42C) heat.
Police did not give a cause of death, but said he had a ‘limited water supply’ and that heat had been a ‘contributing factor’.
A 33-year-old overseas tourist has died while hiking the popular Larapinta Trail, west of Alice Springs, after taking a wrong turn (pictured is Mount Sonder)
Officers said the man had been hiking with a 40-year-old companion but the pair were separated after the 33-year-old ran ahead on the trail.
‘His partner made it back to the Redbank Gorge carpark and raised the alarm, but unfortunately the 33-year-old didn’t arrive,’ Northern Territory Police Superintendent Rob Burgoyne said.
The man was reported missing around 2pm and was found dead shortly after 5pm.
‘His body was eventually located about 400 metres down the track where he’d turned the wrong way,’ Supt Burgoyne added.
The man’s 40-year-old hiking companion told police the 33-year-old had run ahead of him as they descended the mountain and made a wrong turn
The Larapinta Trail is a bushwalking track which runs west from Alice Springs to Mount Sonder along the West MacDonnell Ranges.
Temperatures topped out around 108F (42C) in Alice Spring on Wednesday.
‘We do know he had water with him, but he did do a very foolish thing in that he apparently ran away from his companion after the descent,’ Supt Burgoyne said.
‘It wouldn’t be a terribly advisable thing to do in 40-degree heat – to actually sprint away.’