As this Arizona Republic story reports, first responders found Arizona State University professor Debra Schwartz’s body Sunday morning, May 8, at the bottom of a slot canyon a short distance from her campsite in Oak Creek Canyon north of Sedona.

Schwartz had attended the SPJ Western Regional Conference April 29-30 in Phoenix and many attendees had the pleasure of meeting her. Results of an investigation into the cause of her death are pending.

The Valley of the Sun chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists expresses its deepest sympathies to Debra Schwartz’s family, friends and colleagues.