46-year-old man dies after freefall when parachute doesn’t deploy, Arizona police say

A 46-year-old man died after his parachute didn’t deploy, Arizona police said.

Shawn Bowen of Gilbert was wearing a “wingsuit-type apparatus” when his parachute didn’t deploy during his freefall on Feb. 1, according to a Facebook post by Eloy police.

Officers said the parachute didn’t deploy for unknown reasons.

Detectives are interviewing witnesses and working with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to look into the incident, police said.

Bowen’s family was notified, and the Pinal County Medical Examiner’s Office will conduct his autopsy, police said.

Anyone with information is asked to call 520-466-7324, police said.

Eloy is about a 65-mile drive southeast of Phoenix.

This story was originally published February 3, 2025 at 1:22 PM with the headline "46-year-old man dies after freefall when parachute doesn’t deploy, Arizona police say."