A hiker fell to his death while trying to take a selfie from the peak of an Arizona mountain. Mesa resident, Richard Jacobson, 21, went camping with a friend in the Lost Dutchman State Park, about 40 miles east of Phoenix. He fell about 700 feet from the Flatiron Peak in the Superstition Mountain while taking a selfie on Monday.
His friend, whose identity is not clear at the moment, called the police at 12:45 am when Jacobson slipped. Sergeant Doug Peoble with Pinal County Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue told AZFamily.com that 'Jacobson went to go take a photograph with himself and the city skyline in the background, and he lost his footing, and he slipped, and he fell.'
Peoble added that no signs of foul play were found during the investigation. "No signs of drug use whatsoever. It was just a very tragic accident," he said.
'He was loved by everyone'
Deputies noted that the Arizona Department of Public Safety sent out a helicopter to help with the late-night rescue effort. However, Jacobson's body was found on a trail about 700 feet from where he fell.
Andrew Thomas, a friend of Richard Jacobson told DailyMail that he was loved by everyone and it's sad to lose him. "He was an outdoorsman, hunter, hiker. He did stuff like that, so I guess he did die doing what he loved to do, just in a tragic way," Thomas said.
Accident-prone
It seems that the Flatiron Peak in the Superstition Mountain from where Jacobson fell to his death is prone to such accidents. A reviewer on AllTrails who lives nearby the Siphon Draw Trail that can be used to access the Flatiron Peak said they have witnessed many a 'helicopter evacuation' there. AllTrails is a popular hiking review site.
It is not clear, however, if Jacobson and his friend took the Siphon Draw Trail. It is a 5.5-mile hike that takes about four hours to reach the peak.
