A 69-year-old Boy Scouts leader died Saturday while taking his troop on a hike in the Lake Mead area, on the Nevada-Arizona border. The four scouts and another man he was traveling with were rescued and all were dealing with heat exhaustion.
According to Fox 5 Vegas, Clawson Bowman Jr. and his troop were hiking the White Rock Canyon Trail Saturday morning, under the belief that they could beat the extreme heat. Rangers said that they made it about half-way through the trip, but the heat was far too excessive for him to continue. The group included Bowman, two leaders and seven scouts.
“I think if they'd been exposed out there any longer we could have had a much worse outcome for a lot of them," Supervising Ranger Mark Hnat told Fox 5 Vegas. “A few people started hiking on, and a few people stayed with the man having problems.”
The Associated Press reports that Lake Mead National Recreation Area park rangers worked with other agencies to find the group Saturday afternoon, as the temperatures in the area hit 110.
The scouts called 911 and an air rescue team responded. The other other man found with Bowman was treated at the scene before being taken by an air ambulance. Unfortunately, Bowman was declared dead at the scene.
Hnat told Fox 5, “(The scouts) initially were very stressed out, but as the day went on they realized they were getting help, and once they saw a helicopter their mood improved significantly.”
Authorities will perform an autopsy to determine Bowman’s exact cause of death. Leaders are always cautioned not to go on hikes during the extreme heat.