St. George • Still reeling from the death of Belyruth Ordóñez, the 30-year-old Orem woman who died while hiking with her parents in Snow Canyon State Park last weekend, her close friends are sharing favorite memories of her and rallying to help her family.
Belyruth died while hiking with her parents, Dario and Humbelina Ordóñez, on Saturday afternoon in triple-digit temperatures. Upon hearing that two hikers were suffering from heat-related stress at about 3:30 p.m., first responders rushed to Snow Canyon, located Belyruth’s parents and treated them for heat exhaustion before transporting them to St. George Regional Hospital, according to Santa Clara-Ivins Public Safety Department officials.
After a passerby told them about another woman lying unconscious nearby, first responders conducted a search and located Belyruth, who was already dead when she was found some distance away. Santa Clara-Ivins police Capt. Rich Rodgers said Dario and Humbelina were found on a trail less than 1,000 yards from the main road that bisects the park.
“Then [Belyruth] was found … within about 10 or 15 yards of the road,” Rodgers said. . There were no water bottles found at either location.
Both parents remained hospitalized on Wednesday. Humbelina has regained consciousness but is struggling to remember what happened on the hike, while Dario remains unconscious in intensive care battling for his life, according to police.
For friends of the Ordóñezes, Belyruth’s death is hard to understand because they say she was fit and a seasoned hiker who accompanied her parents on hikes in St. George every spring or summer.
“It was shocking because it was not like she was someone who didn’t know what she was doing,” said Pleasant Grove resident Melanie Penaloza, one of Belyruth’s close friends. “She has already been in Snow Canyon three or four times.”
St. George was under a heat advisory, and the temperature in Snow Canyon was 106 degrees when Belyruth died. About 1,220 people die in the United States each year from extreme heat, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Making memories, serving others
For Belyruth’s friends, however, her life can never be summed up as a mere statistic. Melanie and her younger sisters, Jessica and Belen, say Belyruth was like a sister — someone who was unfailingly wise, kind and with whom they could bond over South Korean pop music and the Jonas Brothers.
Belyruth was also a successful role model they could look up to — a returned missionary who served a mission in Texas for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a senior majoring in psychology at Utah Valley University and someone who excelled in a demanding job at doTERRA.
When the Ordóñezes emigrated to New Jersey from Peru years ago, they became fast friends with Cesar and Marlene Penaloza and their three daughters, who hailed from Ecuador and were also Latter-day Saints. Belyruth and the Penaloza girls attended girls camp and other church youth activities together. Later, after both families moved to Utah about a decade ago, they grew even closer, getting together to socialize and eat dinner on Christmas, Thanksgiving and other major holidays.
By all accounts, Belyruth was a bit shy and introverted until one got to know her. But once she became a friend, close confidants say she was a friend for life who went out of her way to help them and others.
Belen, for example, recalls the time her dog chewed off a part on her expensive K-pop light stick, an item that Korean pop fans use to synchronize with the music and support their favorite bands at concerts. When Belyruth heard about it, she took the identical part off her light stick and gave it to Belen to attach to her broken one so her friend could better enjoy concerts.
“She was always sweet that way,” Belen recalled. “When my birthday came around, she would give me a K-pop album or merchandise. And when I returned from my LDS mission in Las Vegas, she was there at the airport to welcome me.”
Adding to the festive ambience at the airport was the “welcome home” placard that Dario Ordóñez, who owns a small sign business, crafted for the occasion. And when the Penaloza sisters spoke at church or had other milestones in their lives, Belyruth was usually there to lend her support.
Moving heaven and earth
Jessica, the Penaloza’s middle daughter, said Belyruth was there for the tough times as well. She remembers her friend giving her a shoulder to cry on and helping her get through a rough time at work. When they both worked for the same company, she said, they used to have lunch together every day.
Others recall Belyruth dropping by with a bowl of soup or some treats when they were sick. They recall her selfless service to everyone and recall a Spanish saying she often told friends, which loosely translated into English means: “I will move heaven and earth for you.”
“She was so kind and such a beautiful soul,” said Jessica, who recently graduated with a communications degree from Brigham Young University.
That kindness was on display when Marlon Olaya moved to a new Spanish-speaking ward in Orem. Olaya said he felt isolated and had no friends until Belyruth made him feel welcome and brought him out of his shell.
“We just clicked right away,” the Orem resident said. “And I eventually became close with many friends in that ward, and I owe it all to Belyruth.”
After church each Sunday, the two would often go for walks around the [Provo] temple and talk about life. And when Olaya was called as a teacher, he said Belyruth stepped in to help him because of his inexperience.
Later, when he left to serve a church mission in Colorado, he kept in contact with his mentor.
“I’d ask her, ‘Hey, you remember how I used to suck at teaching? Now I’m really good at it.’ I wanted her to be proud of me.”
Lourdes Flores, who is also from Orem, remembers hanging out with her longtime friend at Provo’s Stadium of Fire on the Fourth of July to see the Jonas Brothers. She remembers Belyruth grabbing her by the arm and saying, “Let’s try and get closer. You could tell she was really excited.”
Happy too, it seems.
“She seemed happy to be alive and eager to move forward in her life,” Flores recalled. “She told me that she was dating and had finally found somebody who had the same goals that [she had].”
Final visit, last words
Jessica remembers eating lunch with Belyruth at a sushi restaurant a few days before her friend and her parents left for St. George. She said Belyruth was a bit overwhelmed at work, had an upcoming final and was looking forward to unwinding for a few days.
“As we were going back to work,” Jessica said, choking back her tears, “I hugged her and told her how much I loved her. And she gave me her hand and said, ‘I love you, too.’ That’s the last time we spoke to each other.”
Once they were informed about Belyruth’s death, Jessica, Melanie and their parents drove to St. George on Sunday to visit Dario and Humbelina Ordóñez in the hospital. They tried to communicate with Humbelina, Jessica said, but she kept drifting in and out of consciousness and responded to yes or no questions by nodding or shaking her head. A day later, after returning home, the Penalozas were able to talk to Humbelina via Facetime.
With the death of Belyruth, the Ordóñezes’ only child, friends and family — some of whom are en route to Utah from New Jersey and Peru — are focusing on her parents. Yeraldine Calderone, another of Belyruth’s close friends, has set up a GoFundMe page to raise $100,000 to pay for the Ordóñezes’ funeral and medical expenses. Thus far, friends and neighbors have donated over $18,000.
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