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Cold park kills Florida man From Gazette Staff YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK - A Florida man died of apparent exposure to the cold Wednesday night after becoming separated from his wife and losing his way on the popular Artist Point Trail that runs along the rim of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Paul Hudson, 66, of Orlando, Fla., was located by search teams at about 8:30 a.m. Thursday, park officials said. Hudson had been hiking the Artist Point Trail with his wife, Phyllis, at about 5 p.m. on Wednesday when he stopped to talk with some other park visitors. His wife was a short distance ahead and continued along the trail to their vehicle, but slowed her pace to allow him to catch up. When Phyllis Hudson arrived at the parking area, however, she realized her husband was no longer behind her. She turned back to search for him with the assistance of other visitors. When they could not find him, a tour bus driver called 911 on a cellular telephone to summon park rangers. Park staff began a search that grew to include about 20 searchers, including three dog teams, one from Yellowstone, another from Grand Teton National Park and a third from Absaroka Search Dogs. Park staff and volunteers searched until midnight Wednesday, when they suspended the search due to cold, darkness and exhaustion. The search resumed at first light Thursday and one of the search dogs located Hudson about 1.5 miles east of Artist Point and the Artist Point Trail near Point Sublime, park spokeswoman Marsha Karle said. Rangers surmised that Hudson must have become confused on the way back to the parking area and somehow wandered off the trail and along the canyon rim to the point where he was found. He was wearing khaki pants, a long-sleeve shirt and a light jacket. Temperatures in the interior of the park often fall to near or below freezing even in summer. Preliminary findings indicated that Hudson most likely died from hypothermia, officials said.
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