Body of BASE jumper found on Willard Peak

SALT LAKE CITY — Rescue officials found the body of a person described as an experienced BASE jumper, northwest of Willard Peak, on Friday, Sept. 27.

Searchers used a Department of Public Safety helicopter to locate Jonathan Bizilia, a 27-year-old man from Alabama. The search took two hours. 

A friend of Bizilia contacted the Weber County Sheriff’s Office on Friday. They reported that their friend had not been heard from after he’d attempted a BASE jump. Bizilia, according to the friend, attempted the jump in a wingsuit.

Search and rescue officials initiated a search based on location information provided by the caller. 

 

After approximately two hours, officials located Bizilia in rugged terrain near Willard Peak.

“[We] confirmed that the individual had crashed and had passed away. The recovery effort required the DPS helicopter to utilize a hoist,” said the Box Elder County Sheriff’s office in a Facebook post.

The Box Elder County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue, the DPS Aero Bureau, the Weber County Sheriff’s Office, and the Weber County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue all participated in the search for Bizilia.

Suggested other reading:

• 2 BASE jumpers rescued in separate incidents near Moab over holiday weekend
• Man dies after BASE jump from Grand County’s Parriott Mesa
• BASE jumper rescued from Little Cottonwood Canyon

 

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