Skydiving student found dead with 'no harness'

(NEWSER) – 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.)

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