A 39-year-old man has been identified as the hiker who went missing and was found dead next to the Ron Coleman Trail in McKelligon Canyon.
U.S. Army Sgt. Maj. Benito Canales, a combat veteran and from McKinney, Texas, died Thursday, Aug. 15, while hiking on the Ron Coleman, according to the Noncommissioned Officer Leadership Center of Excellence, the Army’s institution of development for enlisted leaders and the Sergeants Major Academy.
The body was found about 1:45 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 15, after an acquaintance reported that the hiker had not returned and was missing after going hiking in McKelligon Canyon in the Franklin Mountains, El Paso Fire Department spokesman Enrique Dueñas-Aguilar said.
The Combined Search and Rescue, or ComSAR, team located the deceased hiker about 200 yards up the mountain from the start of the Ron Coleman Trail in the canyon, officials said.
The story is developing. Check back for updates.
El Paso Times reporter Daniel Borunda contributed to this report.