Saved son reunites with grandma after parents die in US desert

A French boy was reunited with his grandmother after US authorities used a mobile phone on the body of his mother to find him in the New Mexico desert.

US authorities used a phone on the body of a woman to find the body of her partner and her 9-year-old son who survived after hiking in hot temperatures in New Mexico Desert (France 24) Source: France 24

A  9-year-old French boy was reunited with his grandmother in Albuquerque on Thursday evening after he was rescued by US authorities.

He was found nearby the bodies of his mother and father.

French couple David and Ornella Steiner, had been hiking with him in the New Mexico Desert on Tuesday afternoon with him, but they apparently died from heat exhaustion.

USA, New Mexico, White Sands National Monument, at sunrise against the background of the San Andres (Supplied) Source: Ardea Picture Library

Park rangers found the mother's body first while on a routine patrol. They checked her camera and saw that she had been with a man and a boy.

Authorities followed her tracks and found the body of the father, with their son nearby. He was dehydrated but responsive and taken to a local hospital for treatment.

"They underestimated the elements," Hunter told AFP.

The temperature on Tuesday was around 38 degrees Celsius, Alamogordo Daily News reported.