Hawaii TV adventurer died in Nunavut base jumping accident: agent
The body of American adventurer Jimmy Hall will be sent home to Hawaii from Clyde River, Nunavut, where he died while base jumping last week, his agent confirmed to CBC News.
Hall, 41, died May 9 in an accident on a mountain near Clyde River, ahamletoff Clyde Inlet on the coast of northeastern Baffin Island.
Micah Johnson, Hall's Arizona-based agent, said Friday that the Hawaii-based adventurer's death has made front-page news in his home state, where he had been somewhat of a celebrity.
A tribute set up on Johnson's website described Hall, the Oahu-based owner of Hawaii Shark Encounters, as a shark expert who has appeared on American network shows "after swimming with and videotaping the only documented great white shark in the Hawaiian Islands."
In April, Hall signed a deal with Discovery Channel to host Shark Week, a series that was to air this summer.
"He had planned this trip to Baffin Island prior to us getting this contract with Discovery Channel," Johnson told CBC News. "And honestly … I said, 'I just don't think you should go on this trip.' But Jimmy is one of those people that there's just no stopping him when he decides that an adventure is something he's going to do."
Nunavut has been becoming a popular location for base jumping, which involves parachuting off tall fixed objects such as mountain peaks, buildings, antennas or bridges. Johnson said base jumping was just one of Hall's passions, which also included shark diving, paragliding, sailing and diving.
"This man is also someone that could free-dive 150 feet with no tank," Johnson said. "He's an adrenalin junkie."
According to the tribute website, Hall had been filming a documentary on the Sam Fjord region on Baffin Island at the time of his death. The shoot included him "base jumping from the incredibly harsh mountains," the site read.
"Ultimately, Jimmy died doing what he loved."
Johnson said he has been in regular communication with officials in Clyde River, adding that the task of getting Hall's body from the mountain to the community was a long ordeal.
"It took them 23 hours to get him out of wherever he was off of that mountain back to Clyde River," he said.
Johnson praised the people of Clyde River and said community members and the local RCMP have been a big help — something Nunavut RCMP Cpl. Randy Slawson said is appreciated.
"It's a tragic story and tragic circumstances. I guess if somebody in Clyde River is doing a good job, then we're certainly happy to hear that," Slawson said.