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Family grieves the death of missing hiker who was found dead in the Superstition Mountains

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Published  September 9, 2024 9:29pm MST
Pinal County
FOX 10 Phoenix

Family grieves the death of hiker who was found dead

PINAL COUNTY, Ariz. - A Phoenix lawyer and avid hiker died while hiking in the Superstition Mountains, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said.

Kristopher Childers' family says the 53-year-old father left early Saturday morning and never returned home. That’s when search and rescue teams were sent out.

His family noticed his iPhone location stopped moving on the mountain, and that’s when they knew something was wrong.

Arizona born and raised, Childers' happy place was the outdoors.

Kristopher Childers

Kristopher Childers

"It was horrific getting that phone call and hearing my mother scream," said Childers' sister Kathleen Rzewuski.

She says he was always drawn to being outdoors.

"He loved the desert. He loved the mountains, but the desert always called to him," his sister said.

Childers set out on an early hike, leaving the house at 6:30 in the morning on Sept. 7, but never came home. His iPhone location was pinging in the same location for two hours.

Missing hiker found dead near Lost Dutchman State Park

Kristopher Childers, 52, was found dead after he was last heard from on the morning of Sept. 7 near Lost Dutchman State Park, the Pinal County Sheriff's Office said. Childers' cause of death is under investigation.

His body was found early in the morning the next day.

"It looks like he may have fallen and hit his head, and they found him down in the ravine," Rzewuski said.

She says her brother was found with water still in his Camelbak Backpack. He had hiked Flatiron before, but was scoping it out for a possible future hike with his 10-year-old son who he now leaves behind.

"That was his whole world," Rzewuski said. "He always referred to him as ‘my boy.’"

Childers' sense of humor and joy for life will forever be remembered by his grieving family.

"Nothing prepares you for it," Rzewuski said. "Especially for a second time."

Childers' brother tragically died in 2018.

"The completeness of not having your siblings – you're supposed to grow old with them," Rzewuski said. "It leaves just a very empty … not a complete family anymore."

Rzewuski says with so much loss, the family is focusing on Childers' 10-year-old son.

The medical examiner has not released the cause of death, but the family believe he fell and hit his head.