Missing Calgary paraglider found dead in Kananaskis Country

A Calgary man has been killed while paragliding in Kananaskis Country, RCMP say.

Mounties say a man paragliding in the Elbow Falls area southwest of Bragg Creek was reported missing late Monday by friends and family after he failed to return from a solo flight earlier that day.

Aided by Kananaskis Emergency Services, a 56-year-old man was found dead in a rugged wooded area after a helicopter search around 2 p.m. Tuesday, said Cpl. Troy Savinkoff of Cochrane RCMP.

“They were very quickly able to locate him by the bright blue (canopy) in the top of a tree,” he said.

“He was found very close to his paragliding equipment.”

It’s believed the man’s flight gear became stuck in the tree and he fell about seven metres to his death, Savinkoff said.

“Where he landed is very heavily treed and it would make me suspect it was not his initial intention of going there,” he said.

The paraglider seemed wellequipped with safety gear, Savinkoff said.

It’s not clear from what summit the man launched but his vehicle was found at the Elbow Falls parking lot, according to the Mountie.

The man’s body has been taken to the medical examiner’s office for an autopsy, and the RCMP’S

investigation into the incident continues.

“We’ve also seized the equipment used and sent it to the medical examiner’s to determine if there were any malfunctions,” Savinkoff said.

It’s crucial, he said, to have a backup or “buddy system” in place to ensure visual monitoring and, ideally, be equipped with two-way radios for such flights.