More on Evan Tanner's Death

by Kid Nate on Sep 11, 2008 3:22 PM EDT

Ex-UFC Champ Found Dead in SoCal Desert (via AssociatedPress)

Military.com has far and away the most detailed report about what happened to Evan. He didn't run out of gas, and in contradiction to what Five Ounces of Pain quoted from the Imperial Valley Press, Tanner did have water at his base campsite:

Tanner arrived at his campsite on Sept. 3 and set out to Clapp Spring, about five miles away, the next morning, based on the GPS retrieved from his body, said Jeff Green, De Anza Rescue commander.

"Tanner had sent a friend a phone text message on Thursday afternoon stating that he was at Clapp Spring and had run out of water," said Green. "Tanner told his friend he would travel back to his camp at night, when it's the coldest, and to contact authorities if he wasn’t heard from by 8 a.m. Friday."

The campsite was found abandoned, with Tanner's motorcycle and additional provisions and water, at noon on Sept. 6.

"De Anza Rescue found Tanner's tracks at Clapp Spring early Saturday, confirming that he reached the area," said Keck. "We followed the trail until they lost it at the base of a mountain."

SAR Marines picked up the trail later that afternoon, before ending the day's search at nightfall, said Keck.

De Anza Rescue and station SAR continued to search the area on Sept. 7.

Imperial County Sherriff's Office called SAR Marines out again on Sept. 8. Yuma Marines spotted Tanner's body 1.2 miles away from his campsite at about 12:30 p.m., said Keck.

After the body was found, station SAR flew a coroner to the scene once he arrived from El Centro, Calif.

SAR Marines then airlifted the body to the nearby town of Palo Verde, Calif., where the body was released to the coroner.

The coroner determined the time of death to be between late night on Sept. 4 and the morning of Sept. 5, and the cause of death to be heat exposure, said Green.

Based on the stories that Evan had run out of gas I was afraid he had really been foolish in the desert, but it appears that he simply underestimated how much water he would need for a 10 mile round trip hike away from his base camp. Those SoCal deserts are killers, even for an exceptionally strong man like Tanner. Its good to know he was supplied with more water and gasoline at his base camp. Tragic that he died during the night trying to return to camp. Hiking at night always a risky proposition. God speed Evan.

HT BE Reader Mythbuster

[UPDATE] by Nick Thomas - MMA Fight Weekly Tribute:

Also see Remembering Evan Tanner

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Comments

That clears up quite a few questions. I hope we can put the “suicide” rumours to rest now. Boneheads at my gym were actually pushing that angle yesterday.

by AJB on Sep 11, 2008 4:36 PM EDT reply actions

Crazy, living on the edge and challenging death does not equal suicide.

Did he have some issues? Sure, who doesn’t. Did he set out there knowing that there was some chance of not surviving? Of course, but that is how he lived and it wouldn’t have been interesting to him if it wasn’t.

"The bigger the cushion, the sweeter the pushin'"

by BJJDenver on Sep 11, 2008 4:41 PM EDT up reply actions

Agreed. I wrote this in a post I put up at TKOxtreme:

“Evan did things that most of us will never come close to, and not just by winning a UFC title belt (though that certainly ranks up there). He criss-crossed North America, made and lost money, read as many books and watched as many films as he could, and tried to go to places that few others had visited. It wasn’t this last trip, into the desert of southern California, that cost him his life; it was just a series of chances. Did the trip raise the odds of harm coming to him? Certainly, but those odds are always there; I’ve known healthy young people who have fallen asleep and died without waking. Evan looked at the odds and said, "For the experience of going, it’s a risk worth taking." We should all have the courage and perspective to be so bold.”

by AJB on Sep 11, 2008 4:47 PM EDT up reply actions

yes, very nice. I think many of us get caught up in valuing life, rather than having a life worth valuing.

I’m not saying we should all run out and push ourselves to the brink, but there are many days I wish I had back, which I would spend living to the fullest, rather than letting them pass by.

"The bigger the cushion, the sweeter the pushin'"

by BJJDenver on Sep 11, 2008 5:14 PM EDT up reply actions

That’s the lesson that Evan’s passing has left me with, and it’s a heavy lesson. I hate how much regret I have over my time that was spent piss-poorly. Maybe my adventures won’t be like Evan’s (I hate the heat, after all), but I should be seeking out experiences the way that he did. He’s inspired me to change my life, and I’m ashamed that it took his death to do it.

Fuck, okay, getting sappy again. Uhm, WAR TANNER! Yeah, that’s better.

by AJB on Sep 11, 2008 5:30 PM EDT up reply actions

I think many of us get caught up in valuing life, rather than having a life worth valuing.

Well said.

by mythbuster on Sep 11, 2008 9:28 PM EDT up reply actions

Thanks for the shout out, Nate.

by mythbuster on Sep 11, 2008 9:28 PM EDT reply actions

thanks for alerting me to the stories

by Kid Nate on Sep 11, 2008 11:03 PM EDT up reply actions

I’m confused. He died from sun exposure at night? Maybe I’m misunderstanding. Can someone clarify for me?

by Higgz on Sep 12, 2008 3:07 AM EDT reply actions

heat exhaustion not sun exposure

he probably got overheated and dehydrated during the day and ran down in the night — if your body temperature reaches a certain point and you don’t cool down and rehydrate it won’t help that much that the outside temperature drops some.