3 YouTube Vloggers Die in Waterfall Plunge

Three YouTube vloggers died after falling over a waterfall in British Columbia, Canada on Tuesday. The victims were all contributors to a popular YouTube channel called High On Life SundayFundayz.

Ryker Gamble’s family confirmed he was one of the deceased, while the friends and family of Alexy Lyakh and Megan Scraper said they were the other two victims.

According to the Vancouver Sun, the trio hiked in Shannon Falls, a park with the third-highest waterfall in British Columbia and along the famous Sea to Sky Highway. Scraper tripped and fell, and Lyakh and Gamble tried to rescue her. All three were swept into the pool system, 30 meters (nearly 100 feet) below.

The Squamish Royal Canadian Mounted Police spent two days searching for them. Late Wednesday, they recovered the three bodies.

“Currently all teams are being cleared from the area until then the park remains closed. I can’t say enough about the incredible skilled work done today by the RCMP teams along with Squamish SAR [Search And Rescue],” Cpl. Sascha Banks told the Vancouver Sun in a statement.

On Friday, the surviving High on Life team members shared a three-minute video to pay tribute to their deceased friends.

“There are truly no words that can be said to ease the pain and the devastation that we are all going through right now,” the group said in a statement. “They were three of the warmest, kindest, most driven and outgoing people you could ever meet, and the world has lost a great deal of light from the passing of our friends.”

The statement continued, “They lived every single day to it’s fullest, they stood for positivity, courage, living the best life you can, and they shared and taught their values to millions or people worldwide. As tragic as their loss is, their message lives on through us all, and it is now our responsibility to keep the message going.”

High On Life also launched a memorial fund on GoFundMe. So far, they have raised more than $4,000 in 13 hours.

High On Life has more than 500,000 subscribers on YouTube and over 1.1 million followers on Instagram. Gamble, 30, had more than 71,500 followers on Instgram.

“I’m making a conscious effort this summer to plan more adventures in nature and keep connecting with people who share similar values and mindsets as I do,” Gamble wrote in a June 17 Instagram post. “Turning strangers into friends, exploring in the wild, and creating lifelong memories along the way!”

The Shannon Falls area has become increasingly popular with tourists, especially since the Sea to Sky Gondola opened in 2014. Since the deaths of the YouTube vloggers though, officials are warning people to be more cautious when visiting the area.

“It looks beautiful, it’s a sunny day, but given the extensive water flow that comes off the mountains, and the number of incidents that we’ve had in the Squamish area lately, people just need to be prepared,” Banks told the Sun. “Unless you have the knowledge of that area, the expertise and the right equipment you should not be up there.”

Photo credit: GoFundMe