Cause of Death for 15-Year-Old Hiker Still a Mystery

An autopsy Monday failed to reveal why a 15-year-old Vista boy died within hours of being separated from his father while the two were hiking.

Preliminary autopsy results show no apparent trauma in the boy’s death, and the coroner’s office is awaiting lab results to determine how he died, Deputy Coroner Max Murphy said. The medical examiner’s office said it could be weeks before the results are received.

In the meantime, the Sheriff’s Department is not investigating the case.

“There is no indication that there is foul play involved,” Deputy Larry Van Dusen said.

Thomas Randall was out hiking Sunday with his father, who is also named Thomas Randall, in the Morena Village area near Campo, Van Dusen said. The Randalls have residences in both Vista and Tijuana.

The boy and his father became separated about 2 p.m., the father told authorities, so the elder Randall hiked to Morena Village, where, at about 5:30 p.m., he called the Sheriff’s Department for help.

Sheriff’s deputies and a team of U. S. Border Patrol agents trained in tracking arrived about half an hour later. A Sheriff’s Department helicopter flew the Border Patrol team to the place the father had last seen his son and they began tracking footprints, Van Dusen said.

Eight hours after the boy was last seen, his body was found about 50 feet from the trail, near Lake Morena and Lupine drives.

The Pacific Crest Trail, where the two were hiking, runs north through San Diego County from the Mexican border and is popular with hikers, Van Dusen said.

Although still waiting for the lab results, Van Dusen said the coroner will check for heat stroke and heat exhaustion as possible causes of death.

A spokesman for the National Weather Service said the closest weather station to the area where the boy’s body was found reported a high temperature of 97 degrees Sunday.