French tourist dies in Death Valley heat after vehicle gets stuck in mud

A French tourist died last week in California’s Death Valley after the vehicle he was in got stuck in mud and he ventured away for help in temperatures that reached 116 degrees, officials said.

Pierre Michel Formosa, 68, was with a companion Monday when the vehicle they were using got stuck in mud, the National Park Service said Friday in a news release.

The two set out on foot along the desert salt flats toward the paved Badwater Road, one of the park’s main roadways, to seek help, it said. Formosa said he couldn’t keep going and stopped about 1.3 miles into the trek, according to the park service.

The companion made it to the road and flagged down a driver at about 2 p.m., it said, triggering a search for Formosa that included park rangers and a California Highway Patrol helicopter.

Searchers found Formosa’s body that afternoon, about 1.5 miles from Badwater Road, the park service said.

Death Valley National Park Superintendent Mike Reynolds offered condolences to Formosa’s family. “This is a heartbreaking reminder of how quickly conditions here can turn dangerous,” he said in a statement.

The location of Formosa and his companion’s vehicle is near a hiking trail in a historic mining area, according to the independent archive of the park service .

The National Weather Service issued an extreme heat warning for the area through Sunday night, warning of “dangerously hot conditions.” High temperatures in Death Valley were expected to remain in the 115- to 118-degree range Monday and Tuesday, with a high of 119 expected Wednesday.

The park service urged visitors to stay on paved roads during times of extreme heat, carry satellite phones or beacons and have plenty of drinking water on hand.

“Death Valley is an extraordinary place,” Reynolds said, “but its heat, distances, and remoteness can be dangerous, regardless of experience.”