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KANAB — Authorities believe heat factored in the death of a hiker whose body was located in southern Utah Monday night.
The body of Christophe Pochic, 49, of Belgium, was located by two Bureau of Land Management officials shortly after 9 p.m. near The Wave, according to Kane County sheriff’s chief deputy Alan Alldredge, in a statement.
Alldredge said Pochic was hiking The Wave with his 16-year-old when Pochic “became disoriented and wanted to go the wrong way.” The teen went toward the trailhead to find help and also called his mother, who contacted authorities shortly after 7 p.m.
He found other hikers who helped search for Pochic for about three hours and Kane County sheriff’s deputies also responded to the Wire Pass Trailhead to search for the man. A helicopter also aided in the search until Pochic’s body was found.
His body was taken to Mosdell Mortuary and then transported to the Utah Medical Examiner’s Office in Salt Lake City for an autopsy.
Alldredge said Pochic was believed to be in good health and had no medical issues, and investigators were treating his death as heat related.
Temperatures in Kanab were in the 90s Monday and Alldredge said, “the slick rock area around The Wave can prove to be deadly because of the extreme heat.” He added Pochic had water with him when he died.
