Printed in the High Desert Advocate Edition October 1, 2021.
A man died base jumping at Lamoille Canyon around noon Tuesday, September 21. This is the second reported death at the popular jump site since June 2021.
David William Wessels died in a base jumping incident at 11:54 a.m. on September 21, according to the Elko County Sheriff’s Office (ECSO).
Wessels was wearing a “wingsuit” at the time of his death. Officials say he was with a group of several other jumpers near the Thomas Canyon Campground.
Although the other jumpers were not reported injured yesterday, ECSO and the United States Forest Service (USFS) said in a statement to the public that they “would like to remind people of the unpredictable weather Lamoille Canyon can produce.”
On June 12, Daniel John Ristow also died base jumping in the same area.
Police say the group of jumpers had conversations the night of September 20 about a more dangerous area of the canyon and avoided it, opting for a safer location Tuesday morning. However, a shift in downslope and upslope air currents looks to have complicated the jump.
ECSO and USFS members recovered Wessels from an area of rocks at the bottom of the cliff.
