Texas man on trip to spread dad's ashes dies of heat stroke in Utah's Arches National Park

SALT LAKE CITY − A Texas man whose body was found in Utah’s Arches National Park is believed to have died of heatstroke while on a trip to spread his father’s ashes.

James Bernard Hendricks, 66, of Austin, was hiking in the park and probably became disoriented from a combination of heat, dehydration and high altitude, said his sister, Ruth Hendricks Bough.

Hendricks had stopped in Utah while journeying across the West to the Sierra Nevada region of Nevada and California to spread his father’s ashes, he said in social media posts.

Rangers found his vehicle at a trailhead parking lot after Hendricks was reported overdue the morning of Aug 1, according to park officials. Hendrick's body was found nearby off the trail and his water bottle was empty, Bough said in a social media post.

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'Loved by countless people'

“He was loved by countless people because he was an unusually kind, sweet person who made friends easily. Now all these people are grieving. It was a horrible shock,” Bough told the San Antonio Express-News.

The National Park Service and Grand County Sheriff's Office were investigating.

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Arches National Park, located in a high-elevation desert north of Moab, Utah, is known for its natural sandstone arches. Temperatures topped 90 degrees in the area on the afternoon before Hendricks was reported missing.