KITIMAT, B.C. – A 26-year-old Alberta man who died after falling off a cliff near Kitimat, British Columbia loved his job, according to his brother.
Jason Ripley says his brother Jeff Ripley was passionate about his job as a hunting guide in B.C..
RCMP say they received a signal from an emergency beacon at about 9 p.m. on Monday that a guide had fallen.
Search and rescue crews arrived at the scene near the Kemano River on Tuesday morning, but police say the 26-year-old man had already succumbed to his injuries.
It’s believed Ripley lost his footing while returning to camp.
Jason Ripley calls it a ‘freak accident”, saying Jeff had a lot of experience hunting big game in the mountains.
Ripley recalls conversations he and his brother frequently had about death.
“We always talked about how we wanted to die and we had said, if we die, it’s not going to be laying in a hospital,” Ripley told Global News.
“It’s going to be doing what we love. And I know he died doing what he loved.”
Ripley leaves behind a wife of just one year, and a family that shared his passion.
“Hunting was huge for us.. with me and him, and dad, and even our kids,” said Ripley.
“We all hunted together all the time, and it’s what bonded us as a family.”
Ripley says his brother was nearly finished his stint working as a guide in B.C., and the brothers were going to go elk hunting next week.
Police and the BC Coroners’ Service are investigating the incident.
Kitimat on the northern coast of B.C.
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