Friends of a young woman who died unexpectedly during a trip to Arizona to visit a man for the first time are asking for a thorough investigation.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, 31-year-old Angela Tramonte was found dead on Friday after hiking on Camelback Mountain in Arizona. She is believed to have traveled to Phoenix from Saugus, Massachusetts, late last week to visit Dario Dizdar, a Phoenix police officer she had met on social media. Dizdar, who was off duty at the time, reportedly told police that Tramonte had become overheated on the hike and decided to turn back, while he continued on the trail.
The pair reportedly agreed to meet back in the parking lot, and Dizdar called police at about 1 p.m. when he returned from the hike and didn’t find her there. Tramonte was found dead later that afternoon.
“At approximately 4:40 p.m., Ms. Tramonte was located off the Echo Canyon Trail, adjacent to a home, on the northeast side of Camelback Mountain,” Phoenix police said in a statement to CBS Boston.
“Phoenix Fire personnel responded and found her unresponsive, beyond resuscitative efforts and she was pronounced deceased. No traumatic injuries were observed during the initial investigation or discovered during the autopsy.”
Investigators have not yet released the results of the autopsy or Tramonte’s precise cause of death, though investigators reportedly believe Tramonte succumbed to heat exhaustion and dehydration.
“Just another reminder of just how unrelenting and unforgiving the elements of the Sonoran Desert can be,” said Phoenix Police Captain Rob McDade told CBS Boston in a statement.
According to Fox 10, Phoenix police said Dizdar told investigators neither he or Angela had water with them, on a day when the temperature exceeded 100 degrees.
“The witness also told officers, during the hike Ms. Tramonte decided to head back down the trail and asked him to continue to the top to take pictures so that she could share them on her social media. The pair agreed to meet later at the car,” the statement read in part.
As previously reported, Tramonte’s friends have cast doubt on the claim that Tramonte was hiking without water, insisting that she brought water with her wherever she went.
On social media, some who appear to know Tramonte are also questioning reports about her cell phone. Police reportedly said Tramonte had her phone with her when she was found dead, and appeared to be trying to reach a residence for help. It is unclear if Tramonte had cell phone service when she was on the mountain.
” … at that point in time, [she] could have conceivably been in the early stages of heat exhaustion and heatstroke, where you become delirious, and unfortunately, your faculties are not about you,” McDade told the Boston Globe.
Further, Tramonte’s friends are questioning why Dizdar let the woman turn back on her own, especially if she was overheated.
“As a cop, as a first responder, you’re supposed to help people. If somebody’s walking up a mountain and you’re seeing her in distress and she’s not feeling well and she’s exhausted – why wouldn’t you walk her back down,” Tramonte’s friend Stacey Gerardi said in a statement to CBS Boston. “Why would you continue to walk back up? It doesn’t make sense.”
While police have said there is no indication of foul play, the investigation reportedly remains active. The Daily Mail published the full statement from Phoenix police:
On July 30, 2021, at about 1:00 p.m., Phoenix Fire personnel responded to a trail at Camelback Mountain after receiving a 911 call reporting a hiker missing.
‘The person who called 911 was an off-duty Phoenix Police officer, who informed the emergency operator that he and Ms. Tramonte had separated during a hike, and he could not find her. The initial search included over 30 fire personnel and the police helicopter. At 3:00 p.m., Phoenix Fire requested the assistance of Phoenix Police officers to help with search efforts.
The witness told officers Ms. Tramonte and he began their hike around 10:00 a.m. and neither one of them had any water. The witness also told officers, during the hike Ms. Tramonte decided to head back down the trail and asked him to continue to the top to take pictures so that she could share them on her social media. The pair agreed to meet later at the car.’
At approximately 4:40 p.m., Ms. Tramonte was located off the Echo Canyon Trail, adjacent to a home, on the northeast side of Camelback Mountain. Phoenix Fire personnel responded and found her unresponsive, beyond resuscitative efforts and she was pronounced deceased.
No traumatic injuries were observed during the initial investigation or discovered during the autopsy. Ms. Tramonte’s cellular phone was located on her when she was found.”
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