Pierre Michel Formosa, a 68-year-old French visitor, died in Death Valley National Park on August 17 after his vehicle became stuck and he set out across a 116-degree salt flat looking for help, the National Park Service said.
Formosa's death came in the middle of Death Valley's hottest stretch of the year, in a search that involved National Park Service rangers, an Inyo County sheriff's deputy and a California Highway Patrol helicopter.
Formosa and his companion were driving West Side Road, an unpaved route along the western edge of the valley floor, when their vehicle became stuck in mud near Queen of Sheba Mine Road. With the temperature at 116 degrees, the two men left the vehicle and walked across the salt flats toward Badwater Road, the park's main paved route through the valley, in search of help.
About 1.3 miles into the walk, Formosa could no longer continue. His companion kept going alone, eventually reaching Badwater Road and flagging down a passing motorist.
The companion reported the incident at the Furnace Creek Visitor Center shortly after 2 p.m. Park rangers and an Inyo County sheriff's deputy began searching at 2:13 p.m., and a California Highway Patrol helicopter located Formosa about 1.5 miles from Badwater Road later that afternoon, the park said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
"Our deepest condolences are with the family and friends of the visitor who died. This is a heartbreaking reminder of how quickly conditions here can turn dangerous," Death Valley National Park Superintendent Mike Reynolds said in the release. "Death Valley is an extraordinary place, but its heat, distances and remoteness can be dangerous, regardless of experience."
"We're grateful to everyone who took part in the search, and our thoughts are with his loved ones," he added.
The Inyo County coroner's office had not yet determined Formosa's cause or manner of death as of the park's August 21 release. Most fatalities in Death Valley come from single-vehicle rollovers on the park's long, winding roads, not heat, according to the National Park Service.
NPS guidance for extreme heat and backcountry travel
Summer daytime temperatures in Death Valley can reach 130 degrees, with nighttime lows still as high as 90 degrees, according to the park's safety guidance. The Park Service said visitors should drink at least a gallon of water per person per day and avoid hiking the valley floor or other low-elevation areas once the heat sets in, since the surrounding mountains stay cooler and offer some relief.
On backcountry routes like West Side Road, the park's guidance for drivers said to stay with a broken-down vehicle rather than walk for help, marking it with a raised hood or a large X visible from the air. Anyone who does have to leave on foot is told to carry enough water and wait until after sundown, and to stick to established roads instead of cutting across open desert. Cell phone reception is "non-existent in most areas of the park," the guidance said, so a call for help usually isn't an option. The park's August 21 release added that visitors should carry a satellite communication device and check road conditions before setting out.
Vehicles headed onto unpaved roads should be prepared before they leave pavement, with at least one inflated spare tire, preferably two, off-road-rated tires instead of street tires, and a full tank of gas. The guidance also called for traveling in a group of two or more four-wheel-drive vehicles on remote or rough roads, or, for solo travelers, leaving a detailed route plan with someone who will notice if it isn't followed.
How we reported this
This article draws on the following primary sources, accessed August 25, 2026:
- French Visitor Dies in Death Valley National Park, National Park Service news release, published August 21, 2026. Primary account of the incident, the search and rescue response, and Superintendent Mike Reynolds's statement.
- Death Valley: Safety, National Park Service visitor safety page. Source for summer temperature figures, water guidance, and hiking-in-heat guidance.
- Death Valley: Backcountry Roads, National Park Service backcountry travel page. Source for stay-with-your-vehicle guidance, cell service conditions, and vehicle preparation recommendations.