Sally Menke, the Oscar-nominated film editor on Quentin Tarantino's projects, was found dead in a canyon where she'd been hiking in extreme heat, police said. She was 56.
Menke went hiking with her dog Monday and was discovered by searchers in Beachwood Canyon early Tuesday, the black lab alive at her side.
She had apparently been separated from a friend during her hike. Her locked car was found in a Griffith Park parking lot.
Menke was nominated for an Academy Award earlier this year for her work editing Tarantino's "Inglorious Basterds." She was also nominated in 1995 for "Pulp Fiction." Other credits with Tarantino include "Kill Bill," "Reservoir Dogs," "Jackie Brown," and Tarantino's "Grindhouse" segment," "Death Proof."
She produced and edited the 2000 Matt Damon starrer "All the Pretty Horses," directed by Billy Bob Thornton.
Apart from her collaborations with Tarantino, Menke worked on "Mulholland Falls," "Heaven & Earth," and "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles."
The extreme heat Monday may have been a factor in her death. A police spokesperson told Fox 11 News that Menke was dressed warmly.
Monday was the hottest day ever recorded in Los Angeles since the National Weather Service started keeping records. There was a high of 113 degrees in downtown Los Angeles that afternoon.
