Sylmar Hang Gliding Association

I was going to post this to the Amazing Flights forum but few people seem to read the the posts there. So today was, and still is, my 51st birthday. Yesterday I was severely depressed. I'm not a big fan of birthdays since the reaper seems to show his ugly head around mine and today was no exception. I was hoping to fly over the snow at Crestline/Marshall today but the forecast didn't look very good. However, the forecast for Kagel looked excellent and I emailed Greblo for a ride this morning before he updated the Kagel Cam. I arrived at our LZ around 11:30 and there were only four of us ready to fly: Sony, Tom, Robert and yours truly. Robert volunteered to use his truck and Rome was our return driver. I think we left around noon or so and arrived at launch around 12:30.

I was in the process of setting up when Rome tells me that Tom found a dead body under the windsock mast when he was in that area getting prepped. I get to the bushes underneath the windsock mast and sure enough there's this rather sad scene of a shirtless and shoeless man lying semi-face down and he was clearly deceased. I took some photos from different angles but tried not to get too close. I couldn't get any cell reception and I could get anyone on my ham radio either. Sony finally got Joe on his radio and we relayed what had happened and to notify the authorities.

I didn't get launched until 1:48 PM. Robert and Sony were already up soaring and Tom never got off due to the gusty winds on launch. My flight was great and I got 33 minutes of video starting with my takeoff. I managed to get as high at 4,747' and made it half way to West Towers but ran out of lift and headed back to Kagel where I saw a police vehicle and a glider in its bag on the ground and another hang truck. The views of the snow in the distant mountains were really beautiful and hopefully it shows up on my video.

Later in the LZ, I found out this was David D. who got stopped on launch when the police wouldn't let him fly. Not long after I flew by David the lift Petered out, the clouds dissipated, and then it really flushed out so I headed for the LZ and landed after 1:15 of nice soaring.

In the LZ there was a deputy who interviewed everyone and obtained my SDHC card with the photos. Luckily, Greblo had previously downloaded all the photos on to his Mac which included important shots of the erosion a few hundred yards down the road from launch. After I got all broken down, Greblo, Beemer and I reviewed the other photos. That's when all the CSI Sylmar began. I'll spare you all the amateur forensics and just posit my opinion that the guy walked up to Kagel launch yesterday and died from exposure in the 50-70 MPH winds and cold temperatures.

I'll spare everyone the description of the scene. Aerial view from a 640x480 video still.............


Hopefully, my flight video edit comes out good. I'll post that when it's ready.

Cheers, Jonathan

Law enforcement has removed our lock and is preventing access to the crime scene. I hope our lock will be returned tonight so we can fly tomorrow if it becomes flyable.

I thought I saw some burlap bags up there once. Too bad he didn't notice them and make a blanket to stay warm.

who hikes up a mountain barefoot?

jcflies wrote:who hikes up a mountain barefoot?

My guess is that our visitor became hypothermic from exposure and engaged in irrational behavior which includes the removal of clothing. Read more here: http://www.snowmobile-ed.com/vt/course/hypothermia.htm

I'd also guess that his shirt, shoes and other clothing that he probably removed himself all blew down the hill in the 50-70 MPH winds along with our windsock. I reviewed my flight video and was unable to locate the windsock that way. Hopefully, it turns up and our late visitor turns out to have succumbed to nothing more tragic than over-exposure to the weather.

Joe - when will you think you'll find out if the authorities have returned our lock to the gate?
DT

I've been given the number of the Watch Commander and told to call him in the morning. I'll post my findings on the Windsports Kagel Kam page before 9 am in the morning.

I agree with Janyce that something is very odd here. It's very clear that one could easily die of exposure up there as the winds were gusting up to 60 mph at camp 9 for many hours, temps were down into the 20's, and there was rain and snow on launch. On the other hand, his socks didn't show the kind of wear that suggested a hike up a mountain, and I don't believe that his shoes could have blown off the mountain top. I'm waiting to see if they find a vehicle or a motorcycle over the side of the mountain. Perhaps he hiked back up after driving off the dirt road. Of course that leaves the question of how he could get in the gate? [/img]

Moved this post here: http://www.shga.com/forum/phpBB2/viewto ... =5309#5309

greblo wrote:I agree with Janyce that something is very odd here. It's very clear that one could easily die of exposure up there as the winds were gusting up to 60 mph at camp 9 for many hours, temps were down into the 20's, and there was rain and snow on launch. On the other hand, his socks didn't show the kind of wear that suggested a hike up a mountain, and I don't believe that his shoes could have blown off the mountain top. I'm waiting to see if they find a vehicle or a motorcycle over the side of the mountain. Perhaps he hiked back up after driving off the dirt road. Of course that leaves the question of how he could get in the gate?

I suspect that's why the police are so interested. It (sadly) sounds like someone dumped a body (or even a live person!) Although, it is clear that there are better places to do it if you don't want to get caught. I mean, right on top? Good grief! I suppose it could be some weird suicide, but it sure doesn't sound like it from what is posted here.

One thought. If the gate was locked, and foul play is suspected, who does that make the prime suspects? Those with gate access. Sigh. Just what we need.

BTW, did anyone recognize the guy?

Or the dump location, awkward and exposed as it is, was intended as a clear message.

IMHO - You people watch too much television. Don't tell me somebody believes that this was a hideous message hit from the Crazy Glue Lock Saboteur(s)? I suspect no fowl play. The poor fellow looked a lot like the rest of the transients I often see when I bicycle along the Los Angeles River.

Fowl play, no. Foul play, maybe.

JBBenson wrote:Fowl play, no. Foul play, maybe.

I just got goosed!

Obviously this is a guy who was swimming in the Pacoima reservoir, got sucked up by the firefighting helicopter, and got dumped on launch.


I'm surprised you freekin' geniuses (geneii?) hadn't figured it out sooner.

Dibs on his clean socks.

Flamejob wrote:Obviously this is a guy who was swimming in the Pacoima reservoir, got sucked up by the firefighting helicopter, and got dumped on launch...............

After I got done wiping the coffee I just sprayed all over my 19", my wife told me about an episode of a CSI show where they found a dead scuba diver in a tree near Lake Mead: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scuba_Doobie-Doo
Like I was saying about watching too much television..............

Flamejob wrote:Obviously this is a guy who was swimming in the Pacoima reservoir, got sucked up by the firefighting helicopter, and got dumped on launch.


I'm surprised you freekin' geniuses (geneii?) hadn't figured it out sooner.

Dibs on his clean socks.

So specific, it is suspicious.

Book 'em, Dano. We'll sort it out downtown.

NMERider wrote:IMHO - You people watch too much television. Don't tell me somebody believes that this was a hideous message hit from the Crazy Glue Lock Saboteur(s)? I suspect no fowl play. The poor fellow looked a lot like the rest of the transients I often see when I bicycle along the Los Angeles River.

So, this transient takes a walk up a 2200' mountain without a shirt and shoes, stopping at the top to sleep. He does this in 50-70 mph winds and without destroying his socks. He does this in freezing weather with snow on the ground. Then, after this superhuman feat, he drops dead right at our windsock. Yep, I'm convinced.

Or maybe this: Transient hikes up the 2200' mountain in gale force winds with snow on the ground. He does this with all his clothes on. Then awed by his achievement, he removes his jacket, shirt and shoes, tossing them high into the air to be blown away. Then he sits down under the windsock pole, all nice and cozy to contemplate his victory over the elements. Yep. That's another good one to bet on.

Transient or not, unless someone can come up with a valid reason he had no shoes, but intact socks, and some way for him to have gotten to the top without walking, then he was dumped, alive or dead by someone else. Maybe a spur-of-the-moment thing, or maybe not, but it is hard to believe that he just walked up there to die. If he'd been found in the wash, that would be different. But good grief, it's a 2200' mountain, with no clear way to the top, in extremely inclement weather. And he didn't have all his clothes or shoes. This is unlikely to be just some down-on-his-luck guy who wandered into the bushes to die.

On the other hand, none of us have all the info yet. We are all (me included) just blowing wind. (Pun intended.)

But I know this. It reminds me how good it is to be alive, warm, employed and comfortable. And to be able to fly. And to have family and friends that care.

May all of you know these joys.

Happy Channuk-kwanz-solstic-christma-newyear to all!

stebbins wrote:..............Transient hikes up the 2200' mountain in gale force winds with snow on the ground. He does this with all his clothes on. Then awed by his achievement, he removes his jacket, shirt and shoes, tossing them high into the air to be blown away...........

His back had 3 or 4 red whip marks across it as though he had crashed his motorcycle into the brush or tumbled down an embankment. Subsequently he became hypothermic which makes people do crazy things like take off their clothes. He may have partially undressed himself away from the place where we found him and simply walked some distance before he laid down and died. His socks were not clean. They were dirty but holey as though he'd walked up there in his stocking feet. There was only one fresh set of motorcycle tread marks going up the road on Tuesday and no second set as if they'd ridden back down the same way. That's what I now believe.

I have seen my share of frozen corpses in the parks around Chicago and face-down floaters in the LA River when I was cycling. It happens. People often die without a fight or a struggle. I was on a murder trial here in Long Beach and the gal clearly died without putting up hardly any resistance. The defendant was convicted and got life w/o parole. I used to work with law enforcement and saw plenty of security camera footage of people getting killed. They often go down without a fight. These things just happen.

This is the second time this year my launch into good lift got delayed by an emergency. At least in the other incident we helped save the crashed PG pilot from being stranded in an unknown location with a broken wrist, arm, elbow, and pelvis. That's another story which makes the point that everyone needs to have a 2-meter radio and know how to use it, even they don't have a license. It was Sony's 2-meter that called this in to the shop.

Sincerely, KI6TJQ

NMERider wrote:His back had 3 or 4 red whip marks across it as though he had crashed his motorcycle into the brush or tumbled down an embankment. Subsequently he became hypothermic which makes people do crazy things like take off their clothes. He may have partially undressed himself away from the place where we found him and simply walked some distance before he laid down and died. His socks were not clean. They were dirty but holey as though he'd walked up there in his stocking feet. There was only one fresh set of motorcycle tread marks going up the road on Tuesday and no second set as if they'd ridden back down the same way. That's what I now believe. ....

The motorcycle theory makes lots of sense. All the information upon which it is based wasn't posted before the quote above. As I said in my post, we don't really know what happened, and until the autopsy results are available we're just guessing. We might be guessing after that too.

NMERider wrote:...The poor fellow looked a lot like the rest of the transients I often see when I bicycle along the Los Angeles River...

Note no mention of whip marks or motorcycle theory. He is referred to as someone who looks like a transient.

greblo wrote:....On the other hand, his socks didn't show the kind of wear that suggested a hike up a mountain, and I don't believe that his shoes could have blown off the mountain top......

Note Joe's quote about socks.

NMERider wrote:...I'd also guess that his shirt, shoes and other clothing that he probably removed himself all blew down the hill in the 50-70 MPH winds along with our windsock.....

I don't believe his shoes would blow away even in those winds. Clothes, sure, but not shoes.

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So, you can see why I said what I did. Nonetheless, what I think is irrelevant, just as what the rest of the SHGA thinks is irrelevant. What matters is a) what happened and b) what the police think.
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As for foul play and too much TV, the fact remains that bodies are found in those mountains with some regularity. Bodies that died elsewhere and were "dumped". Nonetheless, it seems a weird place to dump a body: behind the locked gate, up to the top, and not in the bushes or a ravine.

Right now, the motorcycle theory makes the most sense. However, it is not an unreasonable hypothesis that some group was up there, had a fight that got out of hand, and they left the loser there. Maybe even alive, but "stripped." Or some other "foul-play" scenario. These things happen. I hope that isn't the case here, but who knows.

As for giving up, I believe you, despite the fact that my emotions tell me that nobody would ever give up. But it is an observed fact that some people do give up like that, so my emotional reaction must take a back-seat to the facts.

And yes, I agree that "poor fellow" is the right way to think of it. Sad, no matter how it happened.

I feel privileged to have the life that most of us have. Whenever something like this happens (especially if it is someone down-and-out) I remind myself how lucky I am, and resolve to keep that in mind more. Some of life's annoyances become smaller in that light.

Happy Holidays to all.