A hiker missing in beautiful canyon country since April has been found dead near a trail in Arizona.
The body of 52-year-old Amber Bretsch Barnett was discovered in the White Tank Mountains near Waddell and was identified by police and a medical examiner.
The Missing in Arizona group updated its Facebook page on Thursday to announce the tragedy. "Amber's remains were found off a hiking trail in the White Tank Mountains. We are grateful her family can bring her home and lay her to rest. Keeping them close in our hearts," it said.
Barnett was a deeply religious woman who had a strong attachment to the park, as did her late husband, Donald. When he died in January, she organized a memorial service for him at the White Tank Mountains Nature Center.
According to the Facebook group's social media alert last April, Barnett's silver Kia Rio car was found at the park on April 4. Her keys, debit card and cellphone were still inside the unlocked car.
Sergeant Calbert Gillett of the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, said in a statement that Barnett had been a missing person case since April 2, 2024. Her family had raised the alarm that day after she failed to return from her hike on the Mesquite Trail, which is about 35 miles northwest of Phoenix.
Newsweek sought further comment from the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office via email on Friday.
The Mesquite Canyon Loop trail is around eight miles long and described in by the Hiking Project as: "The perfect hike for someone looking for well-maintained trails, moderate elevation change, and rewarding views … it offers an out-and-back loop that traverses canyons, crosses dry creek beds, winds around desert mountains and overlooks the western Phoenix area."
The park had offered free entry to anyone who was searching for Barnett up to April 26.
She was described at 5 ft 5 inches tall and 180 pounds, with red hair and brown eyes.
According to the Maricopa County Parks and Recreations website, the White Tank Mountain Regional Park has nearly 30,000 acres and is the largest national park in Maricopa County.
The deaths of hikers remains a problem in the U.S.
According to the National Park Service statistics, an average of 358 a year died in national parks in the six years between 2014 and 2019, an average of 7 deaths a week.
However, it said that In 2019, the NPS mortality rate was 0.11 death per 100,000 recreational visits, which it said was "very low when compared to the 715 deaths per 100,000 people rate of the overall U.S. population."
State parks, such as White Tank Mountains, are not included in the NPS statistics.
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