Gilbert man dies in Eloy skydiving accident, marking second death in 8 days

Eloy police reported that a man from Gilbert, believed to be wearing a wingsuit, died after his parachute failed to deploy before a hard landing on Saturday. This marks the second skydiving-related death in the area within eight days.

About 11:40 a.m., 32-year-old Shawn Bowen was reportedly skydiving near the Eloy Municipal Airport while wearing a “wingsuit-type apparatus,” according to a news release from the Eloy Police Department on Saturday evening.

Eyewitnesses reported that during Bowen’s freefall, his parachute did not deploy, and he died after injuries he sustained from the landing.

Investigators from Eloy police and the Federal Aviation Administration were interviewing witnesses to determine why Bowen’s parachute failed to deploy.

The Pima County Medical Examiner’s Office was also at the scene to investigate the death and would conduct an autopsy later next week, according to the Eloy police news release.

Police said the victim’s wife had been notified and offered their condolences to Bowen’s loved ones.

Anyone with information about the death of Bowen was asked to contact the Eloy Police Department at 520-466-7324, ext. 0, referencing case number 2025000741.

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On Jan. 24, Ann Wick, a 55-year-old from Minnesota, died after her parachute failed to deploy after a skydiving experience in the same area as where Bowen died.

Medical personnel attempted lifesaving measures on Wick, but she was later pronounced dead, according to police. The exact cause of death was still under investigation.

Terry Gardner, 73, died at Skydive Arizona on Jan. 31, 2024, after making a hard landing without a fully deployed parachute. Skydive Arizona said Gardner had completed thousands of jumps.

That incident came several weeks after a hot-air balloon crash killed four people in Eloy. The balloon, operated by Droplyne Hot Air Balloon Rides, had been carrying 13 people at takeoff — eight of them skydivers who had left the craft before issues arose causing it to crash. None of the skydivers was injured in that incident.

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The Arizona Republic’s Jose R. Gonzalez and Perry Vandell contributed to this article.

Reach the reporter at rcovarrubias@gannett.com. Follow him on X, Threads and Bluesky @ReyCJrAZ.