Hiker Found Dead in Thousand Palms was Beloved LMU Professor, World Traveler

"The entire Loyola Marymount University community is deeply saddened by the loss of Professor Alan Hogenauer," the school said in a statement. "In his many years at LMU, he was loved and respected by his fellow faculty members, the staff and the many students whose lives he touched. He was a warm and generous teacher who eagerly shared his knowledge and experiences with everyone he met."

According to the LMU president David W. Burcham, Hogenauer was an associate professor of marketing and business law in the College of Business Administration, having taught there since August 2000. Prior to joining the LMU faculty, he spent much of his career in market research and aviation, and as a travel, transportation, airport and air transport planning consultant. 

"Alan had been featured in many print and national TV features for his renowned travels, often emphasizing that travel itself is an educational experience," Burcham said in a campus announcement. "He had accumulated more than 2.2 million air miles, visited all seven continents, 311 countries and territories, and each of the official 397 National Park Service sites."

Alan earned his doctorate in economic/transportation geography at Columbia University in 1975. He also held a master’s degree in philosophy in economic/transportation geography and a second master’s degree in economic geography, both from Columbia. He earned his bachelor’s degree in 1962 from Hunter College in the Bronx section of New York, where he grew up.

Funeral arrangements are pending, according to the university.

Victim Was Hiking With Family in Extreme Heat

On Saturday, the victim was hiking with his wife and son -- boh of whom decided to turn back during their hike because of the scorching heat -- but Hogenauer wanted to go ahead, according to mydesert.com. After they left, the victim called them saying he needed water. When the family was unable to locate him, they contacted authorities for help.

Emergency crews were called to the scene about 3:15 p.m. Saturday, according to Riverside County sheriff's Sgt. Angel Ramos.

His body was discovered by an air crew about 10 a.m. Sunday in a wash, a quarter-mile east of Coachella Valley Preserve Visitor Center; ground crews hiked to the man and determined he was dead, officials said.

Hogenauer apparently died of exposure while hiking in the withering heat. An autopsy is pending, according to the Riverside County Coroner's Office.

Temperatures in the area rose to more than 120 degrees but crews searched throughout the night for the hiker, Ramos stated.