Experts Warn of 'Death by GPS' as More People Visit Remote Wildernesses

Navigation aides are leading many astray -- with deadly results.

Our country's remote wildernesses have long called naturalists with their beauty and danger. GPS devices, which use satellites to provide exact location information, have opened those wilds to more people. And that includes the hazards of the remotest regions, said Death Valley wilderness coordinator Charlie Callagan.

"It's what I'm beginning to call death by GPS," Callagan told the Sacramento Bee. "People are renting vehicles with GPS and they have no idea how it works -- and they are willing to trust the GPS to lead them into the middle of nowhere."

Over the past 15 years, at least a dozen people have died in Death Valley from heat-related illnesses, thanks to summer temperatures that can (and do) exceed 120 degrees. Travelers are increasingly lead astray by GPS, the paper said.

In August 2009, Alicia Sanchez almost died, after following incorrect directions on her GPS. Her 6-year-old son did not survive the searing temperatures. Another hiker vanished last June in Joshua Tree National Park. His body has not yet been found.

The National Park Service has updated Death Valley's website with a warning about the use of GPS, in an effort to limit the number of so called "GPS deaths":

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Experts Warn of 'Death by GPS' as More People Visit Remote Wildernesses

Experts Warn of 'Death by GPS' as More People Visit Remote Wildernesses

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