On the advice of Delambre he returned to the Spanish coast to triangulate down to Valencia. However, he developed a fever and died from malaria about 10 days later. Delambre wrote a fine eulogy for Méchain describing his meridian measurements:
Sa payo ng Delambre siya bumalik sa Spanish baybayin sa triangulate down sa Valencia. Gayunman, siya ay binuo ng lagnat at namatay mula sa malarya tungkol sa 10 araw mamaya. Delambre wrote isang mabuting parangal para sa Méchain naglalarawan ng kanyang katanghaliang tapat measurements: