Spencer Pannwitz, R.I.P.: Adventure-Loving Student Dies in 4th Floor Dorm-Window Fall

Many of the photos on Spencer Pannwitz's Facebook page show the twenty-year-old from Parker engaged in adventurous activities: jumping, flipping, diving and contemplating nature from great heights. These images only make Pannwitz's premature death seem that much sadder: He appears to have fallen from a fourth-floor dormitory window. More photos,...
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Many of the photos on Spencer Pannwitz’s Facebook page show the twenty-year-old from Parker engaged in adventurous activities: jumping, flipping, diving and contemplating nature from great heights. These images only make Pannwitz’s premature death seem that much sadder: He appears to have fallen from a fourth-floor dormitory window. More photos, a video and details below.

See also: Mitch Hanson, R.I.P.: Remembering Smoky Hill Teacher Who Died Amid Depression Struggle

The profile photo from Pannwitz’s Facebook page shows him plunging into a mountain pool….

…and other images are just as outdoorsy. Examples include this fishing pic…. …and a lighthearted pose with a peak in the background…. …as well as gravity-defying images from the slopes: Then came tragedy. At about 2 a.m. on Saturday, January 24, according to the Grand Junction Police Department, dispatchers received a 911 call from passersby reporting a motionless man outside a dormitory on the campus of Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction. The Grand Junction Fire Department responded and took the man, later ID’d as Pannwitz, to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

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Meanwhile, the GJPD launched an investigation and announced the suspicion that Pannwitz had fallen from a fourth-floor window and noted that there was no indication of foul play.

If this supposition holds, Pannwitz’s death is likely to be ruled a tragic accident — one that’s already shaken the CMU community, Grand Junction’s KJCT-TV notes.

Our sincere condolences to Pannwitz’s friends, family and loved ones. See the aforementioned KJCT piece below.

Send your story tips to the author, Michael Roberts.

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