Posted 4:55 PM 5/19/2012 : 23-year-old woman dies while hiking with family
TUCSON - A 23-year-old woman died Saturday afternoon after having a heart attack while hiking on the Wild Burro Trail in the Tortolita Mountains. That's near the Ritz Carlton Hotel at Dove Mountain.
Amalia Barber of Clinton, IL was a student at Purdue University in Indiana. She was in Tucson with her brother, visiting their aunt and uncle.
The group set out on the trail around 7 a.m. when they got lost. Barber started saying she was overheated. Her family used all the water they had left to cool her down, but she eventually lost consciousness.
The family called 911 and a full-scale search began involving helicopters and multiple emergency agencies. The victim's aunt and uncle performed CPR but it was too late.
Marana Police are investigating the cause of the death but fire officials tell us it was most likely heat related.
To add to this tragedy, Barber was celebrating her 23rd birthday.