Missouri
Missouri woman celebrates 90th birthday with 10,000 ft. skydiving plunge: ‘Close to heaven up there’
When God gives you 90 years, why not try and cheat death just a bit more?
A Missouri woman seemed to think just that when she celebrated her 90th birthday by going skydiving, hurling herself from a plane 10,000 feet in the air as her family looked on.
“You’re kind of close to heaven while you’re up there,” Eleanor Mann told KODE after her recent trip back down to Earth.
And the hair-raising leap was only her latest — 20 years ago, she went skydiving for the first time on her 70th birthday.
Mann enjoyed it so much, she promised herself if she made it to 90 she’d go again.
“I just thought it was an interesting thing to do, and I loved it. Before just floating down through the air, it was just wonderful,” she said.
Three generations of her family — her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren — stood close at hand and cheered her from the safety of the ground.
“[It’s] a blessing that they love me so much that they would take their time and drive so far,” Mann told KODE.
“I just appreciate it so much.”
The owner of Ozarks Skydive Center, the organization Mann jumped with, said seeing older clients make the jump is one of the best parts of the job.
“We love it. As much as we enjoy sharing the sport with everybody, we love to see those folks come out. It’s kind of a special thing for them,” owner Bryan Wolford said.
“And when we can share it with somebody at 90, that’s pretty, pretty neat,” he added.
Mann wasn’t even the oldest client they’ve seen — they once had a 96-year-old do a jump.
The oldest person to ever go skydiving is Alfred “Al” Blaschke, a Texan who made a dive at 106 years old in November, according to the Guinness World Records.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott even joined Blaschke for the jump to mark the occasion.
Blaschke previously set an age record for jumping at 103 in 2020.
Missouri
Recovery efforts continue after deadly Missouri flash flooding | Latest Weather Clips | FOX Weather
Recovery efforts continue after deadly Missouri flash flooding
FOX Weather Meteorologist Jane Minar continues her coverage live from Ironton, Missouri, following catastrophic flash flooding that tore through the region Friday, leaving one dead and prompting more than 350 water rescues. Latest on recovery efforts:
July 11 (UPI) — One person was found dead and hundreds evacuated in Missouri after an intense day of flash flooding across the state, authorities said Saturday.
More than 350 people were rescued in Iron, Reynolds and Crawford counties on Friday as floodwaters rapidly took over the area.
Officials said 250 of those were staff and children at Camp Taum Sauk, all of whom were safely evacuated. Another 100 were water rescues.
“It was very harrowing,” Jennifer Box, mother of of two you boys at the camp, told The New York Times. “We knew they were safe, but we didn’t know how to get to them, and that’s kind of your worst nightmare.”
One Crawford County woman, Faith Gregory, was found dead a mile downstream from her home in Huzzah Creek, officials said.
Authorities said Gregory was swept away after part of her home collapsed in the floodwaters.
“It’s definitely not the outcome we were hoping for, but it’s a tragic reminder of how strong Mother Nature can be and how forceful it can be,” Missouri State Highway Patrol Sergeant Eddie Young told FOX Weather.
The region was battered by more than 12 inches of rain, leaving many area residents remained strained throughout Saturday.
“But they’re OK,” spokeswoman Kate Moore, of Missouri Region C, told ABC News. “They’re just stranded because the roads are washed away. We have a lot of damage — the trees, buildings, a lot of things have gone and ripped the roads away.”
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