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Man dies in Squamish base-jumping accident

Victim identified on social media as former U.S. Marine Gary Kremer
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FATAL ACCIDENT A man died in a base-jumping accident off the Squamish Chief, pictured, on Sunday, June 26. Photo by Mandy Jensen/Courtesy of the District of Squamish

A man is dead after a base-jumping accident on the Squamish Chief, confirmed police.

Squamish RCMP's Sgt. Jolaine Percival said the man was base-jumping off the Chief shortly before 10 a.m. Sunday, June 26, and "his parachute opened too late," landing near Highway 99.

Authorities have not released the victim's name, but friends on social media have identified him as former U.S. Marine Gary Kremer, 30, from Seattle. A YouTube account under Kremer's name included several base-jumping videos, including from The Chief.

Kremer's girlfriend Paige Anderson took to Facebook yesterday to memorialize the base-jumper.

“This morning, my love Gary Kremer died in a base jumping accident in Squamish, BC.," she wrote. "His kind, loving, energetic, and adventurous spirit will always live on.”

The Chief is a popular destination for extreme sports enthusiasts, and the Stawamus Chief Provincial Park has been the scene of a handful of tragedies over the years. A 40-year-old Squamish resident died in a speed-gliding accident off the Chief last July, while another glider fell to his death off of Mount Habrich, also located in the park, in 2013.

The incident slowed weekend traffic, with one northbound lane closed for several hours.