KEYSTONE HEIGHTS — A missing skydiver has been found deceased Friday night, according to Bradford County Fire and Rescue.
A skydiving team was doing a practice dive for this weekend’s Krawl’n For The Fallen event at Keystone Airport, which honors fallen law enforcement officers and their survivors.
Major Brad Smith with the Bradford Sheriff's Office said the office received a call at about 5 p.m. on Friday after a parachute failure.
The parachutist was a part of a group from South Florida. Smith said he had issues with deploying his first chute and didn’t have enough time to deploy the second.
A member of the dive group identified the deceased jumper as Yuset Hernandez, 51, an experienced parachutist who had been jumping for 30 years. The team is comprised of seven men, all originally from Cuba.
Video footage taken by a fellow skydiver was able to help the emergency crews narrow the search area. The deceased was located Friday evening after 7 p.m. in an area of dense growth, and it was announced he had passed from his injuries.
According to the Bradford County Fire Rescue facebook page yesterday, “multiple units are currently on scene at the Keystone Heights Airport in reference to reports of a skydiver down whose parachute did not open…the patient has been found deceased; the investigation is being handled by local authorities.”
The sixth annual Krawl’n For The Fallen Law at the Florida International Rally & Motorsport Park at Keystone Airport is a 3-day off-road event to honor police officers lost in the line of duty.
