Coroner unable to determine cause of hiker’s death

The Clark County coroner's office could not determine what killed a 16-year-old hiker who was found in September at the bottom of a ravine near Lake Mead.

Searchers found Shane McNeil's body Sept. 28, three days after he went missing while hiking alone at Lake Mead National Recreation Area. The Henderson teen's body was found between Gold Strike Canyon and White Rock Canyon, east of Boulder City and south of Hoover Dam. The body was discovered about a mile from a trail in rough terrain.

McNeil's mother said he had hiked from their home near the Las Vegas Beltway and the U.S. Highway 95 interchange and had sent her a text message about 7 p.m. Sept. 25 as he was approaching the Hoover Dam Visitor Center, where she was to meet him.

She reported him missing after he failed to arrive by 10 p.m., prompting a search that covered 30 square miles .