Skydiver missing near Seattle thought to be dead

January 7, 2013 @ 11:18 am

Associated Press

SEATTLE (AP) - The search for a wing suit-wearing skydiver in the Washington Cascade foothills will continue by helicopter as the weather allows, but officials don't expect to find him alive.

No one saw a parachute Thursday, and if Kurt Ruppert, 29, of Lake City, Fla., survived the jump and was caught in a tree or lost in the forest, he likely died of hypothermia, a King County sheriff's sergeant said.

"We just don't think he survived at this point," Sgt. Cindi West said Monday.

Dozens of searchers were out four days "calling and calling," West said. "If he survived he wasn't conscious enough to yell to us."

It snowed Thursday night and temperatures have been in the 30s and 40s around Mount Si, a steep and heavily forested 4,200-foot peak about 30 miles east of Seattle.

Searchers covered 9 square miles before the ground search was suspended Sunday. Fog on Monday prevented a helicopter search.

Ruppert was taking turns with two friends who were waiting at the grassy landing zone when he jumped out of a helicopter at 6,500 feet and disappeared.

The webbed wing suit allows a skydiver to glide at up to 100 miles per hour, so Ruppert could have covered a lot of ground, West said.

Friends in Florida say Ruppert had been skydiving seven or eight years and was experienced in a wing suit.

There's a record of Ruppert's cellphone signal until he went up in the air and jumped or shut it off, West said. That information led to an extensive search of a quarter-square mile area, which found no sign of him.

Outlying areas where Ruppert might have landed are heavily wooded or mountain cliffs.

Ruppert carried a blue parachute in a black pack. He was dressed in a tan and green wing suit, which would make him hard to spot in the woods.

Friends of Ruppert's were with ground searchers over the weekend, but did not want to talk with reporters, West said.

"People that are out there are having a little memorial today on the mountain," said a friend in Florida, Skydive Palatka owner Art Shaffer.

"There's a lot of sad people here," he said Monday.


(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
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Comments (14)


  • Add A Comment

  • Theodorethegreat wrote...
    Hope....
    January 4, 2013 2:49 pm
    we aren't going to have to flip the bill for this search. Another "daredevil" costing tax payers money.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Drool wrote...
    Theodorethegreat
    January 5, 2013 5:41 pm
    Yeah we better stay on the couch. Much safer there.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Theodorethegreat wrote...
    I don't care
    January 7, 2013 8:20 am
    where you stay. Just don't make me pay for any idiot move because someone wants a thrill. Kinda like the out of bounds skiers and snowboarders that expect us to save them when they fly off of a cliff. Ridiculous
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • tbookout17 wrote...
    What do you want to happen
    January 7, 2013 12:04 pm
    when an accident happens to you while you are enjoying whatever recreational activities you do? We live in a society where people help each other if they are in need. So his way of having fun is different than yours...do you play golf? What if a tree fell on you? Should we call your family and make sure they have the money to pay the first responders before pulling the tree off of you? Granted, that's a highly unlikely scenario, but the point is that we as a society help each other when the need arises and the ability to help exists. Have a heart, Theo, the man is dead. And the rescuers are probably getting paid the same amount whether they are in an office waiting for a distress call or actually out looking for someone. Not to mention the volunteers that don't require "your money".
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • kurtz wrote...
    What taxpayers?
    January 7, 2013 12:43 pm
    I hope you realize that the searchers for this individual are all volunteers, and we don't get any money from the government. So this unfortunate accident isn't costing you anything, if that's all your care about. Fun fact, the article understates the sheer number of searchers who responded. The numbers for Sunday's search aren't up, but as of Saturday, 75 rescuers responded, totaling almost 650 man-hours for this search. Every one of those volunteers was there because they want to help, and were there entirely on their own dime.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • dori monson fan wrote...
    new rei product?
    January 4, 2013 3:57 pm
    squirrel skydiving suit with pockets for the 10 essentials.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • CH wrote...
    10 essentials? . . . .
    January 4, 2013 4:34 pm
    name all 10 of them 1)________. 10) flounder powder.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • S Y wrote...
    If ya find the helmet
    January 4, 2013 9:40 pm
    Look inside you'll find him. How about these guys wearing a locating device. it's cheaper then the fuel we pay to find these dare devils of our tax money and out of staters putting our search and rescuers at risk! Thanks Search and Rescuers for all your volunteer time!! Rocky The Squirrel
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Snout wrote...
    How does one get lost on Mt. Si?
    January 5, 2013 4:22 pm
    Heck, slobs can drive most of the way up now. Answer? The dude is dead.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Loud Larry wrote...
    The camouflage flight suit...
    January 6, 2013 7:29 pm
    probably not a great style choice. I read that this dude had a mid-night New Years Eve jump in Florida. Ballsy. Real life ain't the Nitro Circus.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • hpygolkyone wrote...
    Wow............
    January 7, 2013 4:51 am
    The first thing I plan to do when I buy a flying squirrel outfit and learn how to parachute, is purchase a setup that is totally camouflaged and then jump into a national forest which is nothing but trees.

    Something not right about this story....

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • ToldYa wrote...
    send the bill
    January 7, 2013 8:59 am
    to the families... make them pay.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • CH wrote...
    the squirrels will find him . . . .
    January 7, 2013 9:27 am
    just lay out your nuts.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • HPD 5-0 wrote...
    And mean old Mr Gravity rears his head again.
    January 7, 2013 4:01 pm
    ...
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }