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2 Teens Shot Dead on National Park Camping Trip

2 Teens Shot Dead on National Park Camping Trip

Yahoo03-06-2025
Authorities in Arizona are in the middle of a mysterious case involving two teens who were found shot to death on a popular national park camping site.
According to multiple reports, 18-year-old Pandora Kjolsrud and an unidentified 17-year-old male were found dead on May 27 off State Route 87 at Tonto National Forest.
"At this time, the circumstances surrounding their deaths are being treated as suspicious," the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office said Friday in a statement.
As Fox 10 in Phoenix reported, the two teens left for a Memorial Day weekend camping trip, but they never returned. Friends and family have since set up a memorial overlooking a valley on the famed Camelback Mountain. It's reported that the two teens often visited the spot with friends to watch the sunset.At this moment the MCSO is asking anyone with information to call them at 602-876-TIPS.
At 2.9 million acres, Tonto National Forest is the largest of six national parks in Arizona. The park is famous for its hiking trails, Sonoran Desert Saguaro cacti, camp sites and expansive bike trails.
These national parks are popular, especially this time a year.
The teen's deaths come just days after authorities at another popular park, California's Sequoia National Park, continues searching for a woman who was swept away in a river following a trip with friends and family also on Memorial Day weekend.
2 Teens Shot Dead on National Park Camping Trip first appeared on Men's Journal on Jun 3, 2025
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Inside ‘busy season' for hero local Coast Guard crew
Inside ‘busy season' for hero local Coast Guard crew

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time21 hours ago

  • New York Post

Inside ‘busy season' for hero local Coast Guard crew

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'We're not just housing people,' Mecklenburg County Jail hosts dinner to reduce stigma around inmates
'We're not just housing people,' Mecklenburg County Jail hosts dinner to reduce stigma around inmates

Yahoo

timea day ago

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'We're not just housing people,' Mecklenburg County Jail hosts dinner to reduce stigma around inmates

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This hidden rural oasis makes for a splendid day trip — and it's just an hour from L.A.
This hidden rural oasis makes for a splendid day trip — and it's just an hour from L.A.

Los Angeles Times

timea day ago

  • Los Angeles Times

This hidden rural oasis makes for a splendid day trip — and it's just an hour from L.A.

Ask a random Angeleno to find Piru, Fillmore or Santa Paula on a California map and odds are they'll shrug and give up. Blame it on location, location, location. Collectively known as the Heritage Valley, these small towns hidden on the stretch of Highway 126 are often ignored and bypassed by L.A. travelers bound for Ojai or Ventura. But if you take the time to stop in this rural oasis, you'll find miles of citrus groves, heaps of history and truly tasty Mexican food. Yes, there are more tractors than Tesla Superchargers in this region — that's part of the draw. This, you realize, is what Southern California looked like before suburbia moved in. Heritage Valley was previously known as Santa Clara River Valley, which is what the locals still call it. In 1998, a committee was assembled to help bring in tourists, and the new, jazzier label was coined. It was an improvement over an earlier, clunkier nickname, Santa Clara River Valley Heritage Trail, which sounded more like a hiking path. It wasn't the only title created for the sake of marketing. The town of Santa Paula has always proclaimed itself 'the citrus capital of the world' for its abundance of lemons and oranges. Fillmore, not to be outdone, picked a gem: 'The last, best small town,' which inspired a play of the same name that's set there. Piru was already born with a compelling handle when its devoutly religious founder proclaimed it as 'The Second Garden of Eden' in 1887. Today, it's better known for its popular outdoor recreational area, Lake Piru. (After 'Glee' actress Naya Rivera drowned in the lake in 2020, swimming was temporarily banned. It's now allowed, but only in designated areas between Memorial Day and Labor Day.) If you go back hundreds of years before Lake Piru was created by the construction of the Santa Felicia Dam, you'd see Chumash villages dotting the valley. Then came the Spanish expeditions in the late 18th century, followed by ranchos that used the land for sheep and cattle. Soon the railroads arrived, and then an oil boom. The valley's eventual transformation into an agricultural mecca was hastened by a Mediterranean climate that proved ideal for crops — first citrus, then avocados. But along with the bounty there were disasters, both natural and man-made, including the 1994 Northridge Earthquake and the catastrophic flood from the 1928 St. Francis Dam collapse. Numerous fires also have made the valley live up to a Times article that called it 'among the most dangerous wind and fire corridors in Southern California.' Yet through it all, the population has steadily grown and more travelers are discovering the area for its lively gatherings (the Santa Paula Citrus Music Festival took place last week), new attractions (check out the 17-mile Sunburst Railbike experience) and stunning hikes. Here's where to go on a road trip along Highway 126.

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