Rock Climber Proposes Then Falls to Death
It was a beautiful day turned horribly wrong for one newly engaged couple.
Brad Parker, a 36-year-old yoga instructor, proposed to girlfriend Jainee Dial on a mountaintop in Yosemite National Park on Saturday, only to fall to his death a few hours later.
Life & Style reported on Aug. 19 that he popped the question on top of Cathedral Park. Then, the fitness fanatic separated from Dial to run three miles along Matthes Crest, which is not known to be a "technically difficult route," according to the Press Democrat.
Yosemite Park Ranger Kari Cobb said Parker was climbing alone and without ropes on the granite crest. Matthes is an established route, known as a "traverse" for its lateral direction, reported the Press Democrat on Aug. 18.
Reports say nearby climbers witnessed Parker's fall, a 500-foot distance, and alerted park rangers right away. At 5:45 pm, it was too late to call in a helicopter, so rangers stayed with the body overnight until it was carried out the next morning.
"We're all so stunned. What happened is so unbelievable," his father, Bill, told the Press Democrat. Friend Sarah McKay added that he was "an amazing human being. Eternally positive... his whole life was about getting out and enjoying the world."
Parker's parents flew from their home in Kauai, Hawaii to California to make funeral arrangements. They plan on having their son cremated, and will spread his ashes in three locations: Yosemite, the Pacific Ocean along the Sonoma Coast and the ocean around Kauai, Life & Style reported.
This is the second fatality in Yosemite this year. Cobb told the Press Democrat that there are typically one or two climbing-related deaths every year.