A woman from the Boston area traveled to Arizona to meet a friend she had connected with on Instagram, but she never returned home.
Angela Tramonte, 31, met the man online two months ago and went to Phoenix to meet him in person last week.
On July 30, she and the man, who was not named but is said to be an off-duty Phoenix police officer, went out to hike a trail at Camelback Mountain.
They embarked on the Echo Canyon trail around 10 a.m. Friday with no water, KPNX reported.
The temperature at the time was about 104 degrees, WFXT reported.
The pair eventually split up after she said she was not feeling well, her companion told police. He said Tramonte asked him to continue on the hike and take photos for her social media page while she turned back to return to their starting point, according to KPNX.
“She was unsure of herself making it all the way to the top, and wanted to turn around and make it back to the parking lot,” Phoenix Fire Department Capt. Rob McDade told KSAZ.
They were supposed to meet at the car, but she was not there. Around 1 p.m. the man called the police when he couldn’t find Tramonte, KPNX reported.
Four hours later, search crews found her body near a home off the trail.
Officials believe she may have tried to get help and was overheated and possibly disoriented, KSAZ reported.
The police department does not consider Tramonte’s death to be suspicious.
Officials believe she may have been dehydrated because of the heat, WFXT reported.
She had no injuries according to police and she had her cell phone with her when she was found, KSAZ reported.
But her friends back in Massachusetts have questions surrounding her death, WFXT reported.
They said they didn’t think it was a good idea for Tramonte to fly to Phoenix to meet someone she’d been talking to online.
“He allowed her to walk down that mountain knowing she’s never hiked before, but he still allowed her, him knowing the conditions and the heat and what that would do to a person but you still allowed her to walk down that mountain alone,” Sarina Viola told WFXT.
“She wasn’t the type of person to put herself in the situation without taking the necessary precautions,” Evelyn Doherty-Tefry said, according to KPNX.
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