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Hiker on trip to spread dad’s ashes dies of heat stroke at Arches National Park News Briefing

Hiker on trip to spread dad’s ashes dies of heat stroke at Arches National Park

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James Bernard Hendricks was found dead at Arches National Park in Utah (Picture: AP)

A body found at Arches National Park has been identified as a man who traveled there to spread his father’s ashes and died of a heat stroke.

James ‘Jimmy’ Bernard Hendricks, 66, was hiking at the Utah park and likely got disoriented due to heat, the high altitude and dehydration, said his sisters Ia Hendricks and Ruth Hendricks Brough.

He was an experienced hiker and was traversing the western states to the Sierra Nevada mountains, where he intended to release his dad’s ashes on a peak near Reno, Nevada, they said.

‘It was just a horrible crushing blow to everybody,’ she Brough. ‘He was the quintessential nature boy who went everywhere and did everything. He was so strong.’

James did not return and was reported overdue on August 1. Rangers found his car parked at a trailhead and he was found roughly 2 1/2 miles in from there.

The temperature in the area hit a high of 100 degrees Fahrenheit on July 29. James embarked on along hike in the morning and then went on a shorter hike, during which it is believed he died.

James was taking medication that may have caused dehydration, Brough said. His water bottle was found empty.

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

James’ death comes more than 20 years after his brother Ron Hendricks vanished around Lake Tahoe. The family was informed this year that the remains were identified as Ron through DNA testing.

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Joe Biden mistakenly calls Grand Canyon one of the ‘nine wonders’ with ‘ironic’ species News Briefing

Joe Biden mistakenly calls Grand Canyon one of the ‘nine wonders’ with ‘ironic’ species

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President Joe Biden in his latest gaffe called the Grand Canyon one of the ‘nine’ wonders of the world and said it has ‘ironic’ wildlife.

Biden, 80, got the number of natural wonders wrong while delivering a speech at Red Butte Airfield in Arizona in which signed a national monument designation for the Grand Canyon area.

‘Folks, it’s not hyperbole to suggest that there is no national treasure, none, that is grander than the Grand Canyon,’ said Biden.

‘The Grand Canyon – one of the earth’s nine wonders, wonders the world – literally, think of that. You know, it’s amazing. An enduring symbol of America to the entire world.’

Biden then caught his error and corrected himself.

‘The first time I saw the Grand Canyon years ago, I was a young senator. As I stood there and looked out, a phrase came to mind – it was instinctive. I said this must be – this is God’s cathedral,’ Biden said.

‘That’s what it reminded me of. It just is so magnificent.

‘As a matter of fact – I said nine. It’s one of the seven wonders of the world.’

Biden made another strange remark later in his speech, in what may have been a teleprompter reading error.

‘These lands also support a range of ecosystems and plants from savannas, to sagebrush to ponderosa pine — a haven of ironic species like bats, bison, bighorn sheep and nearly 450 kinds of birds, including the bald and golden eagles,’ he said.

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