Student found 24 hours after fall in deserted dairy
BY KARL GRAFT A YOUNG Scots urban explorer died after plunging through the roof of a deserted building he was filming on.
Ethan Bonner lay undiscovered in the Dairy Crest building for more than 24 hours before he was found after a huge search.
The 22-year-old – originally from Dunoon but living in Torquay – had suffered fatal brain fractures and was flown to a major trauma centre in Plymouth, where he died.
His mum Cheryl Reynolds revealed the art student had filmed himself on the roof of the building in Totnes, Devon, at 2pm last Tuesday.
When he did not come home his family raised the alarm and he was found the next day by a dog belonging to a fire service search team.
Cheryl now wants to warn other youngsters of the dangers of urban exploring, which is becoming more popular through social media videos.
She said: “What he did was so dangerous. I just want this message to get out there that these young people just don’t realise how dangerous it is in these old buildings.
“I want to warn them because I told Ethan not to do it and I told him he was being an idiot but he always thought he would be OK. Ethan had ADHD and he liked to do random things.
“He was an art student and he would go in and take videos and use them in his work.
“The last thing he sent was this video of him on top of the roof.”
Cheryl said: “Ethan had a heart of gold. Everybody loves Ethan because he was such a likeable, positive, outgoing person.”
Her son carried an organ donor card and she added: “I have been told his heart has gone to save another life.”
Ethan moved south with his family 16 years ago. He leaves siblings Michael, 28, Taylor, 12, and Tate, eight.
A GoFundMe page has been launched to help with his funeral. Within hours Ethan’s friends had donated more than £1000.