They came to Sin City in pursuit of an off-road thrill. The heat killed them

A Las Vegas Review-Journal investigation has identified four female tourists who died of heat illness while riding rented ATVs in the Las Vegas area during the three-year period beginning in summer 2023. The review examined police documents, court records, autopsy reports, 911 calls and body camera footage.

Among the victims was 31-year-old Eleesha Dorsey of Maryland, who was in Las Vegas for her brother's bachelor party in July 2023. After a safety briefing around 2:30 p.m. at Nellis Dunes, where temperatures reached 110 degrees, Dorsey became ill less than an hour into the rental and tried to return to the entry point. A member of her party found her unconscious on the ground. Death investigators recorded her internal body temperature at 115 degrees.

The company Dorsey booked through, The ATV Xperience, had received a cease-and-desist letter from the Bureau of Land Management earlier that year ordering it to halt "non-permitted activities" on BLM-managed lands. Three of the four deaths are tied to companies that, according to a lawsuit against the BLM, are illegally running unguided tours at Nellis Dunes with the agency's permission. The fourth death occurred this July at a desert outpost across the Arizona border.

A 911 call reveals that a member of Dorsey's party, Eric Fruits, was on hold for five minutes before reaching an operator, who then talked him through about 17 minutes of chest compressions. Fruits told the operator, "Our ATV guide, when he first started looking for us, said someone died out here two weeks ago."

Dorsey's mother, Grace C.L. Dorsey Edwards, has filed federal and state wrongful death lawsuits claiming land managers, ATV companies and the ticketing platform Viator failed to protect riders. Her federal lawsuit calls on the BLM to enforce laws governing which tour companies must have permits. "This is a life that was taken," Edwards said. "A life that was lost that didn't have to be lost. What really angered me the most is that it's almost as though life didn't matter."

Sources: Las Vegas Review-Journal