72-year-old’s death could be heat related

An man hiking with his granddaughter died Tuesday at the Thunderbird Conservation Park in Glendale.

Glendale fire spokesman Daniel Valenzuela said the victim, in his mid-70s, was hiking between the hours of 9:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. at the park near 59th Avenue and Deer Valley Road.

His granddaughter went ahead on the trail and waited for her grandfather in the parking lot. When her grandfather, whose name has not been released, did not arrive after several hours, she returned to the trail to search for him and found him unconscious, Valenzuela said.

The granddaughter and another hiker performed CPR until Glendale firefighters arrived on scene around 2 p.m.

"Unfortunately he did not survive the incident," Valenzuela said. "We don't know if it was cardiac arrest, and it's hard to rule out heat as a factor."

Valenzuela reminded people to be wary of the extreme summer temperatures.

"This underscores an important reminder to stay hydrated and if you are going to exercise you should do it as early in the morning as possible."