SHOCK FIND

Two Dead Including Ex-NFL Player in Apparent Climbing Disaster

The pair were found by rescue crews near a peak in California where climbers have previously perished.

A former NFL player was one of two rock climbers found dead in an apparent accident in Southern California, authorities said. Gavin Escobar—who played as a tight end for several NFL teams, including the Dallas Cowboys—was found by rescue crews along with Chelsea Walsh, 33, near Tahquitz Rock near Idyllwild after a distress call was issued on Wednesday. Both the 31-year-old former player and Walsh were dead when rescuers arrived. Escobar was hired as a Long Beach firefighter in February after his playing career, which also included stints with the Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns, and Miami Dolphins. Tahquitz Rock’s steep granite cliffs are popular with climbers, though this isn’t the first tragedy associated with the site. In 2000, two climbers from Los Angeles plunged 200 feet to their deaths there, according to the Los Angeles Times.