LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — We’ve learned more about what happened to a 16-year-old who died while out hiking.
The mother of Quinn Fike told us the teenage girl was alone on the trails on the far west side around Lake Mead Boulevard and the 215. She wanted to warn others about the grave dangers the outdoors can bring if you aren’t prepared.
Quinn Fike was eager to get to the top of the mountain by 215 and Lake Mead Boulevard. She died doing what she loved– climbing her way through the outdoors. She is remembered as an outdoor enthusiast who was no stranger to hiking mountains.
“She camped at every national park in the south west,” Quinn’s mother, Tonia Fike told 8 News Now. “She realized she wanted to spend every day outside.”
Fike said Quinn had just returned from a 15 day rafting trip to the grand canyon.
Quinn was recently diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. With her diagnosis, the teen’s mindset was living life to the fullest. So on Tuesday evening, she begged her mom to let her go hiking alone the next morning at 6 a.m.
“She had a Dexcom reader, which is a continuous glucose monitor. It’s embedded in her arm and it communicates with my phone,” Fike explained to 8 News Now. “I said if you must, go around the trails in the neighborhood.”
But at around 10 a.m., something didn’t seem right. Fike started getting alerts on her phone that Quinn’s sugar wasn’t in the right range. She used the Life 360 app and realized that Quinn had hiked four hours to the top of the mountain. Temps were reaching 104.
“She was in distress,” Finn said about her daughter on the phone. “She sounded overheated more than anything. I asked her ‘how are your sugars, they seem high?’ and she said ‘Mom, I’m okay. I’ll hurry down.”
Hours passed. Fike knew something was wrong and rescuers rushed to the scene. It did not appear that Quinn was following establishing trails. By 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Quinn’s body was found on a ledge. Quinn’s mother shared that she thought Quinn died from a fall.
“Getting to that summit even on well-established trails require some type of climbing and spotters. And she did it by herself.”
With this grave outcome, Fike wanted to let every hiking enthusiast know to never hike alone so that no family has to go through the heartache she faced.
Quinn’s family has set up a GoFundMe to help with memorial costs.