Arkansas base jumper found dead at bottom of Big Brutus
Updated: Jan 18, 2010 06:27 PM
Updated Jan 18, 2010 - 5:20 PM CST
CHEROKEE COUNTY, KAN. - An extreme parachute jump gone wrong. That's how the Cherokee County sheriff's office is describing what happened at the Big Brutus attraction near West Mineral, Kansas.
Officials say it appears that Mark Mosley, 49, of Lowell, Arkansas was attempting to base jump off the giant coal shovel and fell to his death.
Cherokee County investigators collected a parachute and other equipment from the scene.
Base jumpers use special types of chutes, and officials are talking to skydiving experts to see if the wrong type of chute could have been a factor.
A preliminary autopsy shows Moseley's injuries were consistent with a fall.
A Fayetteville, Arkansas TV station is reporting that Mosley was a dentist and sky diving instructor.
Updated Jan 17, 2010 - 5:40 PM CST
An Arkansas man Mark Mosley, 49, of Lowell, Arkansas has been identified as the individual found dead at the Big Brutus grounds near West Mineral, Kansas.
In a news release issued by Cherokee County Sheriff David Groves the evidence indicates Mosley was base jumping at the site.
"Base jumpers typically utilize specialized chutes, due to the low altitudes involved," the release says. "Cherokee County Investigators collected the chute and other equipment from the scene, and are conferring with skydiving / jumping experts in hopes of determining the appropriateness and functionality of the equipment used."
The investigation is ongoing and an autopsy has been scheduled.
Big Brutus is listed as the second largest electric shovel in the world at 160 feet tall with a boom that is 150 feet long.
Updated Jan 16, 2010 - 6:18 PM CST
A body is found near a southeast Kansas tourist attraction.
A deceased male is found lying near Big Brutus. Authorities arrived on scene late Saturday morning at the West Mineral, Kansas attraction.
Police tape surrounds Big Brutus where the body was found.
Cherokee County Sheriff David Groves says he and his deputies are taking their time with the investigation and processing the scene.
He says a top priority is identifying the male and notifying the next of kin.
"At this time we are at the preliminary stages of the investigation trying to make an identification so that we can make a contact with his next of kin," says Sheriff David Groves.
The body is being sent to Topeka for an autopsy where officials hope to find out the time of death.
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