Skydiving Student Found Dead With 'No Harness'

Sheralynn Neff took part in at least five skydives over the weekend, so her last on Sunday should have been routine, reports the Hutchinson News. Instead, the 26-year-old's parachute landed without her. Crews in Cushing, Okla., searched for 16 hours before discovering the body of the Kansas woman—whom officials describe as an experienced skydiver who was participating in a program with the Oklahoma Skydiving Center—in a grassy area about a half-mile from the drop site, report KFOR and KJRH. "There was no harness with her at all. So she came completely out of whatever and dropped to the ground," a sheriff says.

Officials say Neff was the last of five people to jump out of the plane, at about 10,000 feet, around 3:45pm. They believe her parachute opened at about 4,000 feet. News 9 reports it was found in a tree about five miles north of where her body was later discovered and is being examined to find out what went wrong. The FAA is also investigating. Meanwhile, a faculty member at Kansas' Hesston College, where Neff graduated with a degree in Bible and ministry in 2011, describes her as "one of the kindest people you could ever hope to meet. … I feel such profound sadness for her family and the people who knew her." (This skydiver had 1,800 jumps under his belt when he died.)