Downed paraglider found dead in mountains above Santa Barbara
A paraglider who went down in the vicinity of La Cumbre Peak in the mountains above Santa Barbara was found dead Thanksgiving afternoon.
Crews from the Santa Barbara County Fire Department, the U.S. Forest Service and the Santa Barbara County Search and Rescue team were dispatched about 1:15 p.m. to an area off East Camino Cielo.
Two helicopters also responded to search for the paraglider, a woman believed to be about 50 who reportedly was with a group of 20 paragliders that launched at midday.
Witnesses said that when the group arrived at the landing spot at Parma Park, the woman was missing.
The helicopters located what they believe to be the woman’s paraglider, and a paramedic later found the woman’s body after about two hours, according to Santa Barbara fire Capt. Dave Zaniboni.
The woman’s name was being withheld pending notification of relatives.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
Noozhawk is a Santa Barbara-based news website. Executive editor Tom Bolton can be reached at tbolton@noozhawk.com.
This story was originally published November 24, 2016 at 5:07 PM with the headline "Downed paraglider found dead in mountains above Santa Barbara."