Women found dead in desert park near Las Vegas after hikers became concerned

Two hikers were found dead in a Nevada desert park on a day the temperature reached 114 degrees.

The pair, who were hiking together, were identified as Jessica Rhodes, 34, and Diana Matienzo Rivera, 29, of Las Vegas, the Clark County coroner’s office said. A determination of the cause of death was not released.

Police were called to Valley of Fire State Park around 2:30 p.m. Saturday by a group of hikers who had become concerned that the women, whom they had seen set out on the trail that morning, had not returned to the trailhead.

One woman’s body was found near a trail and the other in a canyon, the police said.

Valley of Fire is a 60-square-mile desert park between Interstate 15 and Lake Mead.

The deaths occurred the same week as that of a Death Valley hiker who collapsed after a 6-mile hike in temperatures near 120 degrees. Heat is believed to have been a factor in his death.

There have been seven heat-related deaths this summer in Clark County, which includes Las Vegas, according to the Southern Nevada Health District.