Dr. David Strather dies in Arizona base jumping accident

Sedona AZ (January 27, 2013) – At 5:30 p.m. on January 24, Coconino County Sheriff’s Deputies received a report of a possible base jumping fatality near the confluence of Little Colorado River and main Colorado River channel. Friends had spotted the parachute of jumper David Strather approximately 2000 feet from the top of the canyon after his second jump from the canyon edge.

Stather was using a popular wing suit and parachute worn by many jumpers in the sport.

Attempts to reach the 41-year-old Stather of Calgary, Canada on Friday evening by helicopter were unsuccessful due to darkness and lack of visibility. On Saturday morning, January 25, an Arizona Department of Public Safety helicopter and Coconino County Sheriff’s Office Deputies and Search and Rescue reached Strather, confirming he had died from injuries believed sustained in the jump.

David Stather was a well-known and respected respiratory therapist and surgeon at the Alberta Health Center in Canada. He is survived by his parents and siblings in Canada.

His family released a statement on Monday saying:

We are so very proud of our son in all of his professional accomplishments, especially for all of the lives he’s saved and touched in his life. He loved most outdoor sports and getting the most out of life.

We, as well as his younger brother and two sisters, will miss him dearly. – Margaret Stather (mother)

This incident is under investigation by the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office and Coconino County Medical Examiner’s Office.

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