Cop who took date Angela Tramonte, 31, for deadly desert hike in Arizona was punished for LYING to police in 2009
THE cop who took date Angela Tramonte, 31, for a deadly desert hike in Arizona was reportedly punished for lying to police in 2009.
Tramonte, 31, went hiking on the Echo Canyon Trial in Arizona with Phoenix cop Dario Dizdar on Friday before her body was found near the site.
Tramonte, who was from Massachusetts, and Dizdar had reportedly agreed to meet for a first date after talking online for about two months.
Dizdar claimed that when they were on the hike, Tramonte became overheated and decided to turn around while he continued the hike by himself.
Though authorities do not consider Tramonte's death suspicious at this time, a report recently emerged that the cop has a history of lying to police.
The Daily Beast reported that Dizdar was disciplined in 2009 for lying to cops about who he was during a criminal investigation -- giving authorities a fake name and age.
TRAMONTE'S FRIENDS WANT ANSWERS
Meanwhile, Tramonte's friends have demanded answers in her death, questioning why a first responder would not help his date back from the hike if she was in distress.
“As a cop, as a first responder, you’re supposed to help people," friend Stacey Gerardi told WBZ.
"If somebody’s walking up a mountain and you’re seeing her in distress and she’s not feeling well and she’s exhausted – why wouldn’t you walk her back down?"
Rescue crews went looking for Tramonte after Dizdar reported her missing, and her body was found around 4.40 that afternoon near a home.
Firefighters think she was trying to alert someone in the area that she was struggling before she collapsed, according to ABC15.
NO 'TRAUMATIC INJURIES' FOUND
A spokeswoman for the Phoenix Police Department, Mercedes Fortune, told the Daily Mail that no “traumatic injuries” were seen on Tramonte when she was found or during the autopsy.
She said there is "no evidence to indicate foul play is suspected in connection with Ms. Tramonte’s tragic death."
A GoFundMe page raising money to transport Tramonte's body back to her hometown said that loved ones "just want justice for our friend."
During their hike last week, neither Tramonte or Dizdar brought water, according to reports.
Phoenix Fire Captain Rob McDade told the Boston Globe that where they found Tramonte's body, "[she] could have conceivably been in the early stages of heat exhaustion and heatstroke, where you become delirious, and unfortunately, your faculties are not about you."
No charges have been made in connection with her death.
“This mountain doesn't care who you are, or how great of a hiker or an experienced hiker you are,” McDade said of the mountain the trail was on.
“The mountain, in a situation like that, usually wins.”