Gavin Escobar, a former Dallas Cowboys tight end, died at the age of 31 in an alleged rock climbing accident.
Authorities said that two rock climbers were discovered dead Wednesday near a southern California mountain after rescue crews responded to reports of injuries. Chelsea Walsh, age 33, has been identified as the second climber.
A distress call was received around 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday near Tahquitz Rock in Idyllwild, according to a tweet from Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department. According to the department, a team was able to ascend into the steep, inaccessible location and discovered both climbers deceased at the spot.
Small amounts of rain fell in the area earlier in the day, but officials were unable to immediately determine whether or not the weather played a role in the deaths.
Escobar was selected by the Cowboys in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft and remained a member of the team until 2016. His football career concluded in 2019 with the now-defunct Alliance of American Football after brief appearances with the Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns, and Miami Dolphins.
Since February, Escobar had been a firefighter in Long Beach, California. According to the Long Beach Fire Department, Escobar leaves behind a wife and two children.
With its steep granite cliffs, Tahquitz Rock is a popular climbing site. According to the Los Angeles Times, two climbers from Los Angeles fell 200 feet to their deaths on the rock in the year 2000.
