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Southern Arizona doctor dies while hiking in New Mexico with other physicians, authorities say

Williams Lake in the Wheeler Peak Wilderness below the 13,161-foot Wheeler Peak outside Taos, N.M.
Ryan Heinsius/KNAU
Williams Lake in the Wheeler Peak Wilderness below the 13,161-foot Wheeler Peak outside Taos, N.M.

A southern Arizona doctor has died after suffering an apparent heart attack in New Mexico while on a hike with other physicians.

Taos County sheriff’s officials said 61-year-old Renhick Guyer of Marana, Arizona, died Sunday close to the summit of Wheeler Peak near Taos.

They said Guyer was hiking the steep trail with his wife and a group of friends who are all medical doctors.

Authorities said Guyer collapsed and fell off the trail and the other party members were unable to resuscitate him.

Sheriff’s deputies couldn’t retrieve Guyer’s body until Monday morning because of thunderstorms in the area of the 13,161-foot (4,011-meter) Wheeler Peak and its rugged terrain.

The New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator will determine the cause of death.