Tourist dies in Death Valley after getting stranded on remote road in 116 degree-heat

LAS VEGAS (KVVU/Gray News) - A French tourist died in extreme heat after his car got stuck on a remote backcountry road in Death Valley National Park, forcing him and a friend to try to walk to safety.

Pierre Michel Formosa, 68, and his traveling companion, both visiting from France, were driving last Monday in Death Valley when their car got trapped in thick mud, park officials said.

Faced with a stranded car in an isolated part of the park with no other drivers in sight, the two men decided to set out on foot. They started walking across the exposed salt flats to find help. Temperatures in the basin reached a scorching 116 degrees Fahrenheit that afternoon.

After walking about 1.3 miles in the intense heat, Formosa couldn’t keep going. His friend continued alone and eventually flagged down a passing driver, who took him to the Furnace Creek Visitor Center to report the emergency shortly after 2 p.m.

National Park Service rangers and an Inyo County Sheriff’s deputy launched a search and rescue operation at 2:13 p.m.

A California Highway Patrol helicopter crew joined the search from the air and found Formosa later that afternoon about 1.5 miles from the road. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

“This is a heartbreaking reminder of how quickly conditions here can turn dangerous,” said Death Valley National Park Superintendent Mike Reynolds. “Death Valley is an extraordinary place, but its heat, distances, and remoteness can be dangerous, regardless of experience.”

The Inyo County Coroner’s Office will conduct an investigation to determine Formosa’s exact cause and manner of death.

National Park officials stressed that if a car becomes disabled in the park, staying with the car is often the safest choice. A car provides essential shade and shelter and is significantly easier for search crews to spot from the air than a person walking in open terrain.