Big Bear Lake, CA, April 7, 2016 – At approximately 11:15 p.m. on April 6, deputies from the Big Bear Sheriff’s Station responded to assist Big Bear Fire Department with a subject who reportedly fell from the structure of the Highway 18 bridge near Big Bear Dam. The victim, identified as 27-year-old Craig Cowie, a resident of Sugarloaf, was hiking with friends in the ravine below the bridge. It was reported that Cowie climbed onto the support arch of the bridge and accidentally fell approximately 150 feet to the ground. He sustained fatal injuries as a result of the fall.
Personnel from Big Bear Fire Department recovered the body, using a z-rig rope system. The Coroner’s Office responded to the scene and notification of the fatality was made to next of kin.
