Hiker found dead in Texas’ Big Bend National Park

A hiker was found dead Monday along a trail in Texas' Big Bend National Park after rangers noticed a vehicle that had been parked for several days and launched a search, staff said.

The name of the 24-year-old hiker was not released in a National Park Service statement, but the agency said the discovery was made by searchers Monday along the Marufo Vega Trail.  

The search was launched after rangers at the over 801,000-acre national park in southwestern Texas on Sunday noticed a vehicle that had been parked at a trailhead for days and hadn't been moved, the National Park Service said.

The Marufo Vega Trail is one of the park's most rugged locations at Big bend National park in Texas.NPS

The Marufo Vega Trail was described as rugged 14-mile trail that includes desert areas. "No shade or water makes this trail dangerous during the warmer times of year," the park service said.

The body was removed by helicopter Monday, it said.

"Big Bend National Park staff and partners are saddened by this loss,” Deputy Superintendent Rick Gupman said in the statement. “Our entire park family extends condolences to the hiker’s family and friends.”

Despite being late October, temperatures in the desert parts of Big Bend National Park have been reaching almost 100 degrees each afternoon, the park service said. The highs at Lajitas International Airport, just outside of the park to the northwest, were almost 90 degrees on Saturday and Sunday, according to the National Weather Service's Midland/Odessa office.