I wish there was a law where these thrill seekers had to pay their medical bills out of pocket even if it took all their life and the bills could not be discharged by bankruptcy. It is the cautious in society that get tagged footing the bill either directly or indirectly.

Idiot. Make him pay for the rescue.

Ok folks, calm down. Most thrill seekers do pay their medical bills and usually have insurance. As for "footing the bill directly or indirectly", consider the following. Every year, there are thousands of BASE jumps made in the Moab area. I'd speculate that approximately 100,000 BASE jumps have been made in the Moab area since jumpers started flocking there in 1995. Did you know that in that timeframe, search and rescue have been called upon 9 times for BASE-jumping related rescues? Compare this to over 300 search and rescue cases PER year for biking and over 610 PER year for hiking. Furthermore, in every case but two, rescue costs for BASE jumpers have been paid in full. And over the years, jumpers have grouped together and voluntarily donated just over $10K to the local Moab search and rescue. Pretty good safety record and very responsible group as a whole. This is a viable sport for those that pursue it properly. May I suggest that you consider the facts before making such broad and sweeping statements.

Deseret News,

There is a gross error in your news story. This BASE jump was not made in Canyonlands National Park. It was made on Bureau of Land Management Land on the outskirts of the city of Moab. Respectfully request that you research these facts and consider correcting the story.

Thanks!

It is also the cautious in society who can make the most pompous arm-chair judges in life.

The Moab local spouting statistical facts about SAR calls in Grand County should take his own advise and consider the facts before making such ridiculous statements. For the past 18 years or so, Grand County SAR has responded to an average TOTAL of about 100 calls per year. There has NEVER been anywhere near the 300 per year for mountain bikers or 600 for hikers as he claims. There have certainly been more than 9 basejumping incidents...and as for basejumpers voluntarily donating $10K to GCSAR, whatta joke! Hikers account for a very small percentage of our calls. For several years, the majority of calls were for mountain bikers...but that trend has switched. The majority of calls now involve ATVers and dirt bikers. It's the new Grand County. Addressing just one of the errors in the story, the hoist heicopter was not summoned because rescuers were unable to reach the subject, but because an overland rescue would have been very dangerous, taken many hours and involved numerous belay setups in 100+ degree heat. Patient care guidelines dicated getting him to advanced medical care sooner.