Dallas Cowboys

Former Cowboys TE Turned Firefighter Gavin Escobar, Woman Found Dead in Rock-Climbing Accident

Gavin Escobar, 31, was drafted in 2013 by the Cowboys and played with the team until 2016

Dallas Cowboys tight end Gavin Escobar (89) celebrates his third-quarter touchdown catch in front of St. Louis Rams outside linebacker Will Witherspoon (51) in Arlington, Texas, on Sunday, September 22, 2013. The Cowboys won, 31-7.
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Former Dallas Cowboys tight end Gavin Escobar was one of two rock climbers found dead following an apparent rock-climbing accident Wednesday in Southern California, authorities say.

Escobar, 31, and 33-year-old Chelsea Walsh were found dead after rescue crews responded to reports of injuries, according to the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.

Rescuers had been called around 12:30 p.m. Wednesday to Tahquitz Rock near Idyllwild following a distress call, the Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department said on Twitter.

A team managed to climb into the steep, remote area and found both climbers dead at the scene, the department said.

The Long Beach Fire Department on Thursday identified Escobar as being one of the two climbers who died.

"It is with deep sadness that we announce the off-duty death of Long Beach Firefighter Gavin Escobar," the department wrote in a Facebook post.

Escobar was drafted in 2013 by the Cowboys and played with the team until 2016. Following his football career, he joined the Long Beach Fire Department in February 2022 and was assigned to Fire Station 3 on B-shift, the department said.

"Firefighter Escobar leaves behind his wife and two young children," the department wrote.

Late Thursday, a tweet on the official Dallas Cowboys Twitter page read "Forever in our hearts."

A small amount of rain fell in the area earlier in the day, but officials didn’t immediately say if weather was a factor in the deaths.

Tahquitz Rock, with its steep granite cliffs, is a popular destination for climbers.

Two climbers from Los Angeles fell 200 feet to their deaths on the rock in 2000, according to the LA Times.

Copyright NBC 5 News and The Associated Press
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