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Former UFC Middleweight Champion Evan Tanner found dead in the California desert.
He apparently texted a friend last Wednesday saying he had run out
of water, that was the last anyone heard from the former champion.
After his disappearance was reported on Friday, a massive search of the
area was conducted, which ended when his body was found yesterday.
The 37 year old fighter blogged last month
about “treasure hunting and lost gold, and my own insatiable appetite
for adventure and exploration…..I plan on going so deep into the
desert, that any failure of my equipment could cost me my life.”
via CagePotato:
Hayner said that Tanner had gone into the desert on a
motorcycle expedition and had run out of gas. Tanner was attempting to
walk out of the desert, Hayner said, but apparently didn’t realize how
far away from civilization he was and died of exposure in the
triple-digit heat. Tanner’s empty campsite was spotted Sunday, and an
aerial search located his body earlier this afternoon.
“Here was a famous UFC fighter
who didn’t have enough food to eat at times. I’d call him just to make
sure he had food in his fridge, but he never let it get him down.
Starting over was kind of a theme in his life. He hardly ever lived in
the same place more than six months,” Hayner said. “He moved out to
Vegas and then found it too shallow for him, so he moved out to
Oceanside and had a great place, he was learning to surf, and he was
really enjoying his day-to-day life.”
From Evan Tanner's blog:
I'm hoping that very soon I'll be sitting out in the quiet of the
desert beneath a deep blue midnight sky, listening to the calm desert
breeze. The idea going into the desert came to me soon after I moved to
Oceanside. It was motivated by my friend Sara's talk of treasure
hunting and lost gold, and my own insatiable appetite for adventure and
exploration. I began to imagine what might be found in the deep reaches
of the untracked desert. It became an obsession of sorts.
"Treasure" doesn't necessarily refer to something material.
Today, I ran to the store to pick up a few things, and with the
lonesome, quiet desert thoughts on my mind, I couldn't help but be
struck with their brutally stark contrast to my current surroundings,
the amazing congestion in which we exist day to day. The landscape as
far as I could see, crowded, choked, with me and the rest of the
species, an almost writhing mass of organisms, fighting over space and
resources,....on the highways, in the parking lots, on the sidewalks,
and in the ailse of the stores. And to think, there are still places in
the world where man has not been, where he has left no footprints,
where the mysteries stand secure, untouched by human eyes. I want to go
to these places, the quiet, timeless, ageless places, and sit, letting
silence and solitude be my teachers.
I've been gathering my gear for this adventure for over a month, not
a long time by most standards, but far too long for my impatient
nature. Being a minimalist by nature, wanting to carry only the
essentials, and being extremely particular, it has been a little
difficult to find just the right equipment. I plan on going so deep
into the desert, that any failure of my equipment, could cost me my
life. I've been doing a great deal of research and study. I want to
know all I can about where I'm going, and I want to make sure I have
the best equipment.
One more week. I think one more week, and I'll be ready to go.
Evan Tanner a unique spirit and true champion will indeed be missed.
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