Big Sur >> Two BASE jumpers are feared dead after attempting to parachute off the Bixby Bridge in Big Sur on Wednesday morning, according to the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office.
Based on documents found in a rental car parked at the bridge, law enforcement officials identified a man and a woman whom they believe made the jump. Officials have identified the woman as Mary Katherine “Katie” Connell, a Ventura resident, and the man as being from Finland. They have not released the identity of the man, pending notification of relatives.
In a news conference Monday, Sheriff Steve Bernal said officials recovered video from a camera attached to a helmet found on the beach. Bernal said there are no plans to release the video. It shows a woman jumping off the concrete guardrail on the center of the bridge and parachuting to the beach. He said it also showed the woman landing safely, where Bixby Creek feeds into the ocean, but being overwhelmed by several large sets of waves.
“As the water retreats back into the ocean, Connell and the parachute are not seen retreating back to shore,” Bernal said.
Officials believe the man was wearing the helmet cam. He appears to have jumped from the bridge after the woman disappeared in the surf, and it seems from video footage that he also landed safely. However, there is no footage after he hits the beach.
“Both subjects appear to have drowned,” Bernal said.
Bernal said divers are searching the area and other officials are searching from the land and by airplane.
Bernal said deputies didn’t learn about the jumpers until Saturday afternoon when inspecting the rental car. Based on the investigation, he believes they jumped off the bridge at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday.
“The deputies on scene conducted a search from the bridge knowing that this is a destination where people normally go to commit suicide,” Bernal said. “While conducting this area check, deputies observed an orange parachute and what appeared to be a helmet partially buried on the beach below.”
Deputies looked up the car renter’s name and discovered he had an extensive background in BASE jumping and skydiving. Bernal said Connell is an experienced skydiver with more than 300 jumps. BASE is an acronym for “building, antenna, span, earth,” referring to four categories of objects thrill-seekers jump off of with parachutes or wingsuits.
Jackie Faust, general manager of Skydive Monterey Bay in Marina, said while skydiving and BASE jumping are similar, there isn’t much overlap in the communities. She said BASE jumping can be more dangerous and isn’t regulated like skydiving.
“(BASE jumpers) don’t have two parachutes, they have one, and it’s completely different equipment,” she said. “But we do tend to cross paths with a small percentage of them.”
Faust said she didn’t know the two BASE jumpers and they aren’t a part of her organization, but she has lost friends to BASE jumping. She expressed sympathy for the two jumpers and their families and friends.
Jumping off Bixby Bridge can be especially dangerous because of the ocean and the relatively quick drop, Faust said. The bridge rises 260 feet above the creek below.
“The people that I know that have gone down there and I’ve gone down there with, they move quickly (in preparation to jump),” she said. “It’s already kind of premeditated. They have an objective and it’s to get down there. That’s what I think sometimes can lead to errors, is that they’ve made a decision before assessing.”
Bernal said that while it is technically legal to jump off the bridge, stepping onto private property and trespassing once you reach the ground is unavoidable and you can easily commit traffic violations on the bridge. An Aptos resident jumped off the bridge in 2010 and was later convicted of threatening an officer who tried to stop his jump.
Bernal said he doesn’t foresee any future law that would ban jumping off the bridge. He said it’s hard to say how frequently BASE jumpers attempt the plunge off of Bixby Bridge
“I wouldn’t say it’s not uncommon,” Bernal said. “I think it happens more times than we know.”
Tommy Wright can be reached at 831-726-4375.
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