Huntington Beach Man Dies After Running Out Of Gas In Death Valley

FURNACE CREEK, CA — A Huntington Beach man was found dead Tuesday after his vehicle apparently ran out of gas in Death Valley National Park — where temperatures topped 12o degrees.

On the morning of June 8, a park ranger noticed a vehicle in the Zabriskie Point parking lot, the National Parks Service said in a news release Wednesday. Three days later, the same park ranger noticed the same vehicle was still in the parking lot, as a heat wave sent temperatures soaring to 123 degrees.

The vehicle was registered to 67-year-old David Kelleher. Park rangers later learned that Kelleher was not reported missing. Records showed a park ranger had cited him for off-road driving May 30.

A crumpled note inside his vehicle said, “Out of gas,” and he had mentioned to a park ranger May 30 that he was low on fuel near Dantes View Road.

Hot temperatures hindered ground and air search teams focusing on the Golden Canyon and Badlands Trails. His body was found by park visitors around 2 p.m. Tuesday about 2½ miles from their vehicle and about 30 feet from California Highway 190. His body was obscured by terrain and a mesquite tree, authorities said.

Park rangers reminded the public that in extreme heat, people should wait at a disabled vehicle rather than walk for help. Kelleher’s vehicle was parked at one of the park’s most popular viewing points.

This is the park’s second recent death. John McCarry, 69, of Long Beach, was found dead June 1 in Panamint Valley.

On May 23, rescuers began searching for Peter Harootunian, whose vehicle was found abandoned in Emigrant Campground. He has not been found, and the search was scaled back but remains ongoing.

The park service also urged visitors to refrain from hiking at low elevations after 10 a.m. and stay within a short walk of air conditioning, drink plenty of water and eat salty snacks.