Base jumper falls to his death in ‘extremely rugged’ mountain terrain, Utah cops say
An Alabama thrill-seeker died in “a tragic base-jumping incident” while cliff jumping in Utah’s Wasatch Mountains, according to investigators.
The body of Jonathan Bizilia, 27, was discovered near Willard Peak, a 9,764-foot summit about a 70-mile drive north from Salt Lake City.
He was reported missing around 2 p.m. Friday, Sept. 27, according to the Box Elder County Sheriff’s Office.
“An individual reported that a friend, an experienced base jumper, failed to provide an expected update following a base jump in a wingsuit,” the sheriff’s office said in a news release.
“A coordinated effort was initiated to locate the individual. ... Ultimately, the Department of Public Safety (DPS) helicopter located the individual around (4 p.m.) approximately 1 mile northwest of Willard Peak, in extremely rugged terrain.”
The helicopter crew recovered the body.
Investigators believe Bizilia “crashed” while jumping and died where he fell. The distance of the fall was not revealed.
Base jumping is a sport similar to skydiving, but instead of jumping from an aircraft, participants leap from lower altitude sites like buildings, antennas, bridge spans and cliffs, according to Startskydiving.com. Landing is done with the help of a parachute.
Bizilia’s social media accounts show he was an avid jumper and was a co-host for the Skydive Deland XRW Cup 2024 competition set for December in Deland, Florida.
Lucas Nickolich, his co-host for the event, posted a tribute to Bizilia on social media.
“He was also one of the most talented skydivers I have ever had the chance to jump with,” Nickolich wrote.
“Jonathan loved looking for the next thing to try and we did all kinds of crazy jumps ... that I never thought were possible. He always pushed me to be better and gave me the confidence to try things I was unsure of. We had our fair share of close calls pushing limits but he always managed to make it look easy avoiding the danger and landing safely.”
This story was originally published October 1, 2024 at 9:22 AM with the headline "Base jumper falls to his death in ‘extremely rugged’ mountain terrain, Utah cops say."