Altitude may have contributed to hiker’s death in Nevada

Associated Press

Friday, July 10, 2015 | 8:42 a.m.

ELKO — A California man died of a heart attack while hiking in northeastern Nevada.

The Elko Daily Free Press reports 75-year-old Larry Butte of Auburn, California was on vacation with a friend when he had a heart attack in an area of Lamoille Canyon that's about a two-mile hike from the end of the nearest road.

Undersheriff Clair Morris said wind and rain made it too risky for a helicopter to fly in Wednesday night. Emergency responders hiked in, but the man was dead by the time they got there.

Morris said the high altitude may have been a factor.