Why do people keep assuming they all succumbed at the same time?
I think heat is BY FAR the most likely scenario. And for context- . I consider myself pretty used to extreme temps, and could see some situations where I may end up hiking in very hot weather. I’m not just automatically scared of the temp.
That being said, there are really only two people to think about here- the adults. The baby and dog were going to stay with them no matter what. If one parent started struggling, it’s unlikely that the other would have immediately left them. They also would have probably had to been in dire conditions before they realized it was a true emergency.
So, one starts feeling ill. They slow down together. Now they’re out in the heat even longer. They take a break. They aren’t improving. Maybe by the time the other decides to go get help- they are struggling themselves. We have no clue how long they struggled- for all we know they could have been out overnight.
Alternatively- the baby fell ill first. I can’t even imagine the panic for the parents. They realize their baby is not okay, and maybe they start trying to rush back. But it’s 100+, and the route back to the car is a brutal uphill at the end of a 9 mile hike. So now one of the parents is struggling. See above situation.
A family is not going to split up at the first sign of an issue- especially when there’s a baby involved. And with heat exhaustion, they would not realize how much trouble they were in until it was maybe too late. Add in confusion from the heat, and it all makes a lot of sense.
It’s easy to become so accustomed to heat that you forget how dangerous it can be.
There was no excessive heat, and heat itself does not kill it accelerates dehydration that was not found, these people were murdered and they know why and are not saying for fear of starting a panic
And totally oblivious to the nature or lethality of heat stroke as well.
People who choose to brew up their own storms bitch loudest about the rain.
