It started innocently enough with a group of friends deciding to go for a hike near Lake Mead in Arizona.
For Niagara Falls native Tina Cox, memories of the tragic trip are now etched in her mind forever.
One of her long-time friends, Falls resident Janice McCall, did not survive the trek amid high temperatures on the Arizona Hot Springs Trail that leads to the Colorado River.
Cox said it’s been surreal dealing with the loss of her friend. She likens it to living out a real-life horror movie.
“We’re having a hard time physically, mentally and emotionally,” Cox said. “It’s just traumatic.”
In memory of her friend, Cox is working on developing “Jan’s Light,” to help others be more prepared should they choose to take the strenuous hike along the Arizona Hot Springs trail.
“There has to be something to let people be aware of the danger,” she said. “It was not just a fun and happy hike that we thought we were taking.”
BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION
Cox grew up in the Falls and served in the U.S. Air Force, including a tour of duty during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
The former Niagara Falls Police officer gained local notice in 2003 when she stopped a man who was in the process of assaulting a woman. Cox heard the woman screaming and went to investigate before pursuing him on foot. Police eventually chased the suspect down to the Niagara Gorge where he was later apprehended.
City and police officials lauded Cox for her conduct in helping to apprehend the man, suggesting the woman may have been killed had she not intervened. Cox was awarded the Medal of Valor and keys to the cities of Niagara Falls and Buffalo.
In 2010, Cox started a music management and entertainment company, Dymond Entertainment. For the past nine years, she has lived and worked in Las Vegas.
As part of a celebration of her birthday, which was March 28, five of Cox’s friends, including Janice McCall, visited her for several days in Las Vegas. On April 9, they decided to take a side trip to the Arizona Hot Springs.
“They wanted to extend their days because we just had a great time,” Cox said. “These are my friends and family coming to visit me, so I left work to join them.”
IMMENSE BEAUTY, DANGEROUS HIKE
Hot springs are a popular destination as they offer mineral-rich waters, often in areas of great natural beauty. While a promised oasis awaits at the bottom, the trail down to the Arizona Hot Springs is considered strenuous and, depending on weather conditions, potentially dangerous. Over the years, there have been documented cases of hikers requiring air rescue and even dying due to heat-related illnesses as temperatures soar to 100 degrees and higher.
Cox said she and her friends felt like they were well hydrated when they started their hike, and they had water and fruit with them on the way down to the Colorado River.
But they did not realize at the outset just how difficult their trip would be.
Cox said McCall began to struggle with breathing, started coughing and asked to rest for a few minutes. When her condition didn’t improve, Cox decided to try to make her way back up the trail to see if she find help.
She said she also started feeling the effects of the heat — dehydration, dizziness and cramping.
She made 71 calls to 911 while she walked. Only on the last call did an emergency dispatcher answer, and by then it was too late for McCall.
Cox said friends who stayed behind with McCall gave her CPR while they waited for help. Emergency personnel responding to the scene worked on her, too, but they were unable to save her life.
Two other members of her hiking crew had to be airlifted off the trail. A third traveling companion made it out on his own, with help from another hiker.
“We did everything we could,” Cox said. “Everyone fought to help her.”
NEED FOR CHANGE
The U.S. National Park Service closed the Arizona Hot Springs and Goldstrike trails in Nevada last week due to extreme heat. The move followed the rescue of 28 hikers — three adults and 25 children with special needs — from the Arizona Hot Springs trail. In an NBC News report about the rescue, the park service said the Arizona Hot Springs trek is strenuous for those who aren’t adequately prepared.
“With the season’s heat just beginning, most people are not yet acclimated, increasing the likelihood of heat illness,” the park service said.
Cox said now that she has explored conditions at Arizona Hot Springs online, she wishes she had done more research before attempting the trek with her friends. She also said more should be done to ensure visitors are aware of the potential risks before they start hiking. She thinks the park service should develop a more reliable communication system and have stations along the trail where people can get water or even take a shower to cool off.
To honor her friend, Cox said she’s hoping to develop “Jan’s Light” to promote greater awareness of conditions in the national park and create a safer environment for hikers, both skilled and not-so-skilled.
“There has to be something to let people be aware of the danger,” she said.
“They need emergency phones down there, satellite communication or that sort of thing, or even water stops or built-in showers because you don’t know what can happen. Something needs to be implemented, because we all almost died. For hours to be down there, we are lucky to have survived.”
REMEMBERING A FRIEND
McCall’s body was flown back to the Falls from Arizona.
Services for the 47-year-old are scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. Tuesday at New Hope Baptist Church, 1122 Buffalo Ave.
Cox said her friend was a dedicated mother of three sons and four grandchildren, a warm person with an excellent sense of humor whose light will always be missed.
“I can’t even sleep in my own room. I wake up in the morning and I’m out of there because I feel her presence. I still have her stuff in my house,” Cox said. “She was a very kind, sweet person and just a funny person.”