Community Corner

Skydiver Missing Over Mt. Si

The 29-year-old Florida man didn't show up at a designated landing zone after helicopter skydiving, and his companions didn't see whether his parachute opened.

The King County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue Unit has suspended the search for a man missing after skydiving out of a helicopter near the top of Mt. Si until Friday morning.

Approximately 75 members of the Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue Unit were involved in searching for the missing man Thursday after he didn't meet his group at a designated landing zone. The missing man is 29 years old and lives in Florida. Information about the pilot, helicopter or skydivers has not been released.

Around 2:30 p.m. a helicopter pilot called the Sheriff’s Office and said that a man had skydived out of his helicopter and did not show up at the landing zone after the jump. The pilot said a group of three men were alternating going up in the helicopter to jump; one would jump while the others waited at the landing zone.

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The men were on their second round of jumps when the man disappeared. The pilot said the men were jumping from approximately 6,500 feet near a peak on the west side of the mountain. The peak near the jump location is approximately 2,500 feet. 

The men waiting at the landing zone said their line of sight was blocked so they did not see the man jump out of the helicopter. 

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As the search progressed, cold and rain moved into the area. The King County Search and Rescue Association tweeted around 8:30 p.m.: "Weather on top of Mt Si: snowing and 40-50mph winds." According to the National Weather Service, a low of about 32 degrees is expected in the area, along with rain through the night.

The Sheriff’s Office will resume the search Friday morning at daylight. The command post will be near the Mt. Si trailhead.

 

--Information from the King County Sheriff's Office


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