Former Dallas Cowboy Gavin Escobar dies in apparent climbing accident at 31

Former Dallas Cowboys tight end Gavin Escobar has died at the age of 31 after an apparent rock climbing accident.

Two rock climbers were found dead on Wednesday near a southern California peak after rescue crews responded to reports of injuries, authorities said. The other climber has been named as 33-year-old Chelsea Walsh.

Rescuers were called around 12.30pm on Wednesday to Tahquitz Rock near Idyllwild following a distress call, the Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department said on Twitter. A team managed to climb into the steep, remote area and found both climbers dead at the scene, the department said.

A small amount of rain fell in the area earlier in the day, but officials didn’t immediately say if weather was a factor in the deaths.

Escobar was drafted by the Cowboys in the second round of the 2013 draft and played for the team until 2016. He then had brief stints with the Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns and Miami Dolphins, ending his football career in 2019 with the now-defunct Alliance of American Football.

Escobar had been a firefighter in Long Beach, California, since February. The Long Beach Fire Department said Escobar is survived by his wife and two children.

Tahquitz Rock, with its steep granite cliffs, is a popular destination for climbers. Two climbers from Los Angeles fell 200 feet to their deaths on the rock in 2000, according to the Los Angeles Times.

source: theguardian.com