On June 9
th, 2013, fifty-one-year-old Dale Stehling, his wife, and his parents were travelling from Texas up through Colorado, sightseeing. On that hot summer day, they experienced some car trouble and made an unplanned stop at Mesa Verde National Park . They arrived at the visitor center and at 4:30 pm.
Dale, an experienced hiker, went off on his own to view the Spruce Tree House ruins which were less than a quarter mile (402 meters) away and within eyeshot of the visitor center. These ruins are so close, and the visitor center so visible from them, Dale did not even bother to take any water. This was the last time his family would see him.