[Snowbrushy]

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/08/10/french-couple-dead-after-hike-in-new-mexico-child-rescued/ http://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2015/08/09/couple-dies-hiking-in-new-mexico-desert-dnt.kvia

[Slugman]

Seems like it happened too fast to be dehydration. 1.5 miles plus 100 yards? 1.5 miles plus another 2,000 feet? That is still under two miles. And when the wife turned back, and the father and son continued, they must still have been relatively OK. I think it was heatstroke, causing them to go to the ground, and with nothing to cool them off, actually they would get even hotter, they died. And heatstroke can hit almost instantly, one minute you are up and OK, then you are out. Sad story in any case.

[Daryl]

Wow, very sad, on vacation no less. in the heat like that, often times people start the hike already dehydrated and not even know it. they started at 1pm, if they had an alcoholic beverage for lunch, or had not been drinking enough up to that point in the day... if you are not used to the heat it's very easy to run yourself low without knowing.