LA sheriff’s deputy dies throughout 120 mile relay race within the Mojave Desert | EUROtoday

A Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy died after struggling a medical emergency whereas collaborating in an annual 120-mile relay race from Baker to the Las Vegas Valley on Sunday, his division has confirmed.

Levi Vargas, 30, was collaborating within the run alongside different legislation enforcement personnel when he suffered an unspecified emergency. Despite the life-saving measures that have been taken, Vargas was later pronounced useless.

The Baker to Vegas race is the drive’s premier sports activities occasion, operating via the Mojave Desert in LA. Thousands of {dollars} are raised to ship a 20-person workforce to the race, which begins within the northern space of Baker and runs 120 miles via to the Las Vegas Strip. The occasion started in 1985.

It is thought for its excessive situations and runs massive swathes of the gruelling Mojave Desert. The U.S. Marshals Service described it as a course that “pushes runners to their limits with punishing terrain, extreme temperature swings, long, steep mountain climbs, and miles of isolation” in an announcement following 2025’s race.

Vargas had been a veteran member of the division for over 11 years, having joined in 2015 as a teen. He began as a custody assistant and later graduated from the Academy Class 413, based on officers. He survived by his spouse, in addition to his mother and father and siblings.

Video broadcast by ABC Los Angeles confirmed him being escorted by colleagues from a Las Vegas hospital to the morgue. He will then be transported to Southern California. Vargas was primarily based in San Dimas, 30 miles east of downtown Los Angeles.

The division mentioned it was “shocked and deeply saddened by the tragic loss”.

“He was known among his colleagues and friends for his professionalism, commitment, and compassion to our communities,” the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department mentioned in an announcement launched after the demise.

“His loss is deeply felt across our Department, and he will be greatly missed.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends, and colleagues during this incredibly difficult time.”

The U.S. Attorney’s workplace for LA additionally launched a tribute to Vargas on Sunday, writing that it was “shocked and saddened by the death”.

“Our deepest sympathies go to the deputy’s family and to our law enforcement colleagues and fellow runners at LASD,” it wrote in an announcement on X on Sunday.

The space the place Vargas died has been hit by record-breaking warmth, prompting the National Weather Service to problem well being alerts to quite a few cities.

High temperatures, thought of life-threatening in some situations, have been recorded over the past week, with numbers up by 30F in comparison with the typical for this time of yr.

A speedy evaluation by the Grantham Institute at Imperial College London recommended that the local weather disaster is a key contributor to hovering temperatures. Co-author of the report, Ben Clarke, mentioned that the numbers have been “completely off the scale for March” within the report, which was launched earlier this month.