Death Valley Germans

The family consisted of 34-year-old architect Egbert Rimkus, his 11-year-old son Georg Weber, Rimkus's 27-year-old girlfriend Cornelia Meyer and her 4-year-old son Max Meyer, The family then drove to Death Valley National Park on 22 July, where they bought the "Death Valley National Monument Museum Text" (in German) at the Furnace Creek Visitors Center and spent their first night camping out in Hanaupah Canyon near Telescope Peak. The next day, they traveled to various tourist sites, with Cornelia signing the names of all the family members on a visitors' log at an abandoned mining camp. She included with the signature that they would be headed over the pass, most likely indicating Mengel Pass. A U.S. flag taken from the Geologist's Cabin in Butte Valley was discovered in the van, making it clear they had also visited that location. == Disappearance and search ==

The family had booked a flight from Los Angeles International Airport to return to Germany on 27 July 1996, but there was no evidence that they boarded the flight or departed the United States. Rimkus's ex-wife Heike Weber became concerned when her ex-husband and son did not return from their vacation, and she began to inquire about their whereabouts. On 21 October 1996, the family's rental minivan was discovered in an extremely remote part of the park () known as Anvil Springs Canyon, east of Willow Spring in Death Valley National Park (DVNP) by a ranger aboard a helicopter, who was conducting a routine aerial surveillance mission looking for illegal drug manufacturing labs. Subsequent inspection found three of the four tires were flat, the wheels damaged by driving over rocky terrain, and the vehicle had been driven on them for over . The van had been reported stolen by the rental company and was determined to be the one rented to the tourists. A brand new Coleman sleeping bag, tent, numerous toys and an unused tire jack were all found inside the van. Over 200 search and rescue workers performed an extensive search of the area near the minivan. At the time, the search cost around and included over 45 searchers at almost all times. Some groups involved were the China Lake Mountain Rescue Group and the Indian Wells Valley Search and Rescue Group. ==Discovery of remains==

On 12 November 2009, Les Walker and Tom Mahood, two hikers who were off-duty search and rescue personnel looking for traces of the family, discovered the skeletal remains of two adults (), one male and one female, with identification belonging to the missing tourists found near the remains. authorities claimed they were fairly certain that the bones belonged to the missing tourists. The remains of the children were never officially discovered, although the sole of a shoe, possibly from one of the children, was found. Supposedly, bones resembling those of children were found by searchers near where the adults' remains were found, but no official report was made following up on this discovery. Mahood speculated that, while vacationing in Death Valley on 23 July 1996, the family, short on time and wanting to visit Yosemite National Park on their way back to Los Angeles, attempted to take a shortcut to Yosemite on a route whose difficulty they underestimated. He initially believed they may have seen an AT&T tower and approached it to find help, but his field work led him to realize that the tower would not have been visible from their route. Mahood then theorized that after their vehicle became stranded in the wash, the family traveled on foot southwards to seek help at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, where they may have expected to find a well-patrolled fenced perimeter, a common feature of military bases in Germany but not of military bases in the desert areas of the Southwestern United States. The family likely succumbed to heat stroke (average high temperature of in July), dehydration and lack of shelter halfway to the base perimeter. ==See also==