Three Yosemite BASE Jumpers Convicted Amid Rising Illegal Activity

The National Park Service announced convictions this fall of three men for illegal BASE jumping in Yosemite stemming from incidents in 2024 and 2020, with sentences that included short jail terms, probation, fines, community service, forfeiture of equipment and park bans. Christopher Durell pleaded guilty to a July 2024 jump and was sentenced to 18 months unsupervised probation, 40 hours of community service, a $600 fine and forfeiture of his canopy and wingsuit; Joshua Iosue pleaded guilty and received two days in jail, two years of probation and a $2,510 fine and is banned from the park during probation; the 2020 El Capitan jumper (reported as David Nunn/Dunn) suffered a severe equipment malfunction, required ranger rescue, and was later sentenced to short jail time, probation, fines, restitution and a ban while on probation. The NPS emphasized that BASE jumping is illegal in all national parks (prohibited since the 1980s), repeatedly endangers jumpers and rescuers, and said Yosemite protection teams remain vigilant and are investigating additional recent incidents. Social‑media footage and reports during the near‑month government shutdown have shown brazen daytime jumps off features such as El Capitan, prompting renewed warnings from park officials even as Interior Department officials have pushed back on understaffing claims.