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Missing 71-year-old hiker found dead in Thousand Palms

A man walks in the Coachella Valley Preserve in 2009. A 71-year-old hiker missing since Saturday amid record heat was found dead Sunday morning, half a mile east of the visitor's center.
(Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
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A 71-year-old hiker who went missing Saturday north of Palm Desert as temperatures soared to record highs in the region was found dead Sunday morning, according to Riverside County authorities.

The man, a Cerritos resident, was reported missing around 3 p.m. Saturday at the Thousand Palms Canyon Preserve. A large search effort, including personnel from four counties, combed through the area from the ground and from the air, according to a press release from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.

Temperatures reached 120 degrees during the “exhaustive” search, authorities said.

The man, whose identity was not released, was found about 10 a.m. Sunday morning by an air unit. He was in a dry creek bed, half a mile east of the Coachella Valley Preserve Visitor Center, according to the Riverside County coroner’s office. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

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Authorities did not immediately specify a cause of death.

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Twitter: @vicjkim

victoria.kim@latimes.com

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