Thrill seeker parachutes off Ga. phone tower to his death

METCALFE, Ga. — A thrill seeker is dead after he jumped off a phone tower in southern Georgia this morning. 

Brandon Jackson, 37, a retired U.S. Army master sergeant and two other men went Early Thursday morning to BASE jump — parachuting from a fixed structure — from one of the tallest towers in the country.

The other two men, Miles Edwin Daisher, 47, of Twin Falls, Idaho, and Tom Patrick Baker, 29, of North Carolina, stayed on the ground. The men told investigators they heard the chute open and then another noise that they couldn’t identify.

Daisher and Baker searched the area for about an hour, looking for Jackson, according to Thomas County Sheriff, Capt. Steve Jones, before they called authorities. 

A massive search for the man included the Thomas County Sheriff’s Office in Georgia, Thomas County Emergency Management Services and local residents who provided 4-wheelers and manpower. The Leon County Florida Sheriff’s Office sent up a helicopter to try to find a heat signature, but it was unsuccessful. The search began at the tower and expanded outward.

Jackson’s body was found by search teams approximately 800 to 1,000 yards from the tower, according to Jones, about 20 feet inside of the edge of a wooded area.

“The wind was possibly a factor,” Jones said. “According to the National Weather Service, it was gusting at over 40 mph at that time. The chute did deploy. He may have hit a guide wire.

“We won’t know for sure until the investigation is completed.”

Daisher and Baker were arrested and charged with criminal trespass. Other charges may be pending.

According to Allison Smith of the Twin Falls Times-News and Magicnews.com in Twin Falls, Idaho, Daisher is a nationally recognized BASE jumper and brought national attention to the sport and Twin Falls by setting a world record.

The Perrine Bridge, near Twin Falls, is one of the few places in the country where it is legal to BASE jump year round without a permit.

“In 2005, Miles jumped from the Perrine Bridge 57 times in less than 24 hours, hiking out of the Snake River Canyon each time, approximately the equivalent distance as hiking Mount Everest,” she said.

He is one of the organizers of the Perrine Bridge Festival each September, which raises money for the local hospital foundation. He also runs a business in Twin Falls where he teaches people to pack parachutes and BASE jump.

Murphy writes for the Times-Enterprise in Thomasville, Georgia.