Heat hampers search for tourist missing in California desert

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. – Authorities say the search for a Virginia woman whose husband was found dead in Southern California’s Mojave Desert has been hampered by heat so extreme that the ground temperature has reached 165 degrees (74 degrees Celsius).

Sixty-five-year-old Susan Schmierer was last seen June 2 with her 64-year-old husband, William, near Amboy Crater, an extinct cinder cone volcano. William Schmierer’s remains were found two weeks later near a trail leading to the crater. His cause of death has not been determined but investigators do not suspect foul play.

San Bernardino County sheriff’s spokeswoman Jodi Miller said Tuesday that a June search for Susan Schmierer was called off because conditions in the area with black lava rock were unsafe for deputies and their dogs. Another search is planned for July 28.