Esther Hollister, better known as Mrs. California Route 66, was found dead Monday at a Riverside construction site after she disappeared Saturday during a hiking excursion. She was 53.
An autopsy will be performed, but local police said no foul play was suspected.
One friend said on Facebook that heatstroke was a possible contributor to her death. Hollister also posted Saturday morning on Facebook she was doing a workout at a local gym.
According to The Patch and other media outlets, Hollister’s body was found Monday morning after a person called 911 to report a dead woman on the south side of Ryan Bonaminio Park. Hollister was found about a mile from where started a hike Saturday up Mount Rubidoux.
Several friends and family embarked on a search after Hollister was reported missing Sunday.
After her death was announced, tributes began rolling in on Facebook:
Hollister was an advocate for preserving and promoting Route 66. In 2015, she traveled the route to help drum up support for the Mojave Trails National Monument.
“We want to bring people back to that kind of travel,” Hollister said. “In those days, when people drove on Route 66, they stopped in those towns, stayed in the court hotels, and all of that commerce created thriving communities. It was a different way of traveling where people stopped at gift shops, bought souvenirs and took their pictures in front of incredible architecture and natural treasures.”
“We want to help bring some of that commerce back,” Hollister said. “We’ll be stopping all along the way, visiting the shops and promoting them on our social media.” […]
“People need to know about these shops. We need to promote them so that when people want to drive on Route 66, they’ll know about them. There are incredible businesses still on the highway.”
She also showed up at plenty of Route 66 events, including the relighting of the Roy’s neon sign in Amboy, California.
Arrangements are pending.
(Image of Esther Hollister via Facebook)
I am sorry to hear of Esther Hollister’s death. From decades of noting how people who die in their fifties often do so from a heart attack, to me this seems to have been the likely cause – with the heat bringing it on. What is the significance of her being found on “a construction site”? Perhaps she was seeking shade.