54-Year-Old Mom Dead After Collapsing on Colorado National Monument Trail: 'Helped Everyone No Matter What'

Marcia Cook, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was vacationing in the Grand Junction area with one of her sons when the incident occurred

A 54-year-old Iowa mom died after collapsing while on a hike in western Colorado, authorities said.

Marcia Cook, a dental hygienist and mother, died on Monday, June 10, two miles into a hike on the Lower Monument Canyon Trail at Colorado National Monument near Grand Junction, according to the National Park Service and ABC affiliate KCRG-TV.

Cook collapsed and lost consciousness shortly before 2:30 p.m. local time on the trail, which is rated “moderate to steep” and runs in a five-mile loop.

National Park Service rangers, Lower Valley Fire crew members, Colorado Parks and Wildlife staff and Mesa County Search and Rescue team members responded to the location where Cook was and CPR was initiated, but life-saving efforts were not successful.

Cook was pronounced dead at the scene, the NPS said.

A day before her death, Cook posted a photo of herself and son Austin posing in front of snow-dappled mountains on Facebook. A friend, Holly Pateva, wrote on Facebook that Cook was vacationing with her son when the tragedy occurred.

The Mesa County Coroner’s Office is now investigating the cause of Cook’s death, which comes as the area was experiencing temperatures above 90 degrees over the past week.

The NPS shared that hikers should plan to hike in the early morning or late afternoon, before 10 a.m. or after 4 p.m. to “reduce exposure to heat.”

Meanwhile, Cook is being remembered as a "special person" who was dedicated to her family and friends.

“She was a hard worker, kind-hearted person that helped everyone no matter what,” Pateva wrote on Facebook about her former dental office colleague. “She would always make me chuckle. She especially loved her family.”

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