Richard was making his 3rd BASE jump, and his first at this site. He had been travelling all day, and arrived in the evening, after dark. He jumped sometime after 11:17pm on the night of Wednesday, February 6th. Conditions were good early in the evening, although that night we got several inches of snow and had high winds. It's not clear what the jumping conditions were at the time of the jump, but that doesn't appear to be an issue, because he probably landed without incident.

Temperatures were below freezing that night, and Richard was wearing jeans, sneakers and a relatively normal jacket. His new jumping boots were found in his hotel room, in a bag. His stash bag was also left in his hotel room, likely by accident. No flashlight was found, nor was any survival gear found. His telephone still has not been located (although the phone records were pulled by the Sheriff's office, which is how we know he made his last call to a friend at 11:17pm).

Never having jumped this site, it is unlikely that Richard knew the trail to climb out. He apparently began hiking up the canyon wall well away from the normal exit trail, and became lost. He then likely became progressively disoriented, confused and hypothermic. He was found without his rig, coat, shirt and one shoe, all of which he had apparently removed and discarded at different points. It is likely that he wandered in the canyon for several hours before succumbing to the elements. His body was recovered in the mid afternoon today (Friday the 8th). At least one other jumper had made two jumps today without noticing any sign of him.