The BASE jumper killed in a fall from a 700-foot Utah cliff has been identified as Gabe Reilly, a 27-year-old Salt Lake City firefighter with extensive experience in the high-risk sport.
The Salt Lake City Fire Department said Reilly, who had served with the agency for four years, died Sunday morning after his wingsuit failed during a jump from a ledge near Millville Canyon in Cache County.
“Gabe was known for his infectious smile, kind-heartedness, and his free-spirited nature. Gabe’s commitment to the department, his fellow firefighters, and the community will not be forgotten,” the department wrote in a heartfelt social media tribute.
Reilly followed in the footsteps of his father, who retired from the Salt Lake City Fire Department in 2024.
According to Cache County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Doyle Peck, Reilly was among eight to 10 jumpers who launched from the overlook at about 9 a.m. when “something went wrong.”
Peck said Reilly “did not have enough lift with his wingsuit,” a specialized outfit designed to allow jumpers to glide through the air.
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“He impacted the ground at a high rate of speed resulting in his death,” Peck said.
The deputy added that Reilly was “experienced in this type of activity.”
Millville Canyon, known for its dramatic cliffs that resemble those of the Grand Canyon, lies roughly 45 miles north of Ogden and has become a popular destination for BASE jumpers, officials said.
The term BASE refers to the four types of launch points used in the sport: buildings, antennas, spans and earth. Participants leap from elevated locations using either a wingsuit or parachute.
Reilly’s death comes only months after two BASE jumpers were killed in Utah in June. One of them was Andy Lewis, a 39-year-old daredevil who performed during Madonna’s 2012 Super Bowl halftime show.
Lewis and another jumper, a 50-year-old man, plunged to the ground during a failed tandem jump in Mineral Bottom, a remote desert region near Utah’s border with Colorado.