Authorities in Maine have found the body of a skydiving instructor who became separated from his student during a tandem jump.
The body of 41-year-old Brett Bickford of Rochester, New Hampshire, was recovered by ground searchers about 750 feet southwest of the Lebanon Airport runway at about 5:30 p.m. Authorities said Bickford's body while located in one of the last grid searches for the day.
Bickford and his student participated in a jump around 2 p.m. Thursday near Skydive New England in Lebanon. The student called police after he landed safely and couldn't find his instructor.
Maine Department of Public Safety spokesman Steve McCausland says investigators determined the instructor and student became separated about a mile above the ground. McCausland said the instructor didn't have a backup parachute.
Both people use the same parachute in a tandem jump. Police aren't sure how the skydivers became separated.
Authorities called off the search around 9 p.m. Thursday and resumed on Friday morning.
An investigation into what caused the fatal incident is ongoing.
