The BC Coroners Service has confirmed the identity of a man who died after a free-climbing incident at Turtle Mountain Saturday.
He is Martin Hieltje Wolbers, aged 32, of Vernon.
Shortly after 4 p.m. on May 14, passersby walking their dog along the Turtle Mountain Hiking Trail just west of Vernon came upon Wolbers lying unresponsive on the trail below a section of steep basalt cliff-face. He could not be resuscitated. Wolbers was known to frequently free-climb on the rock faces near where he was found and preliminary investigation indicates he fell while doing so.
The BC Coroners Service and RCMP continue to investigate this death.
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The death of a Vernon rock climber is under investigation.
At 4:20 p.m. Saturday, a couple found an unresponsive man at the base of the steep cliffs in the Turtle Mountain area.
“The male was deceased at the scene and the investigation reveals the cause was a fall,” said Const. Spencer Hornoi, with the RCMP.
Hornoi says the 32-year-old man was known to climb the area.
The death is being investigated by the B.C. Coroners Service.
