Joseph Gottschalk, 52, received international media attention after the San Antonio Express-News wrote of his habit of riding around Southside Lions Park wearing nothing but a thong.
Posted on 06/23/2003 7:23:20 PM PDT by mhking
Joseph H. Gottschalk, whose habit of riding a bicycle while wearing only a thong brought him both local celebrity and notoriety, was found dead over the weekend in Big Bend National Park.
Park officials said hikers spotted some clothing near the edge of a cliff some 30 feet from the South Rim trail Saturday afternoon.
Peering down a sharp drop, the hikers saw Gottschalk’s naked body on a wide ledge about 100 feet below, park spokesman David Elkowitz said.
A search-and-rescue team used pulleys to raise and retrieve Gottschalk’s corpse, and a Brewster County justice of the peace examined it Sunday.
The fall appeared to have killed Gottschalk, 52, but the cause of death remains under investigation. Rangers said they found no signs of foul play nor any note at the cliff.
Boots and some clothes sat about eight feet from the dropoff, near a half-gallon or so of water — enough for a day’s hike. No tent or sleeping bag was found, and Gottschalk had no camping permit. His motorcycle was found in a parking lot some seven miles away from the precipice.
Park rangers recalled that Gottschalk stopped by a visitors’ office on Friday afternoon to ask about the South Rim, a popular trail along the edge of the Chisos Mountains that peaks at nearly 7,400 feet above sea level and offers some of the park’s best views and steepest drops.
As the rangers recalled it, nothing about the exchange seemed unusual.
“They said he was fine,” said Mark Spier, chief ranger at Big Bend. “He just asked a lot of questions about that area.”
By today, Gottschalk’s next of kin, including four sons and a brother in the San Antonio area, had been notified and his body was on its way to El Paso for an autopsy.
Gottschalk received international media attention after the San Antonio Express-News wrote of his habit of riding around Southside Lions Park wearing nothing but a thong.
In May, the man who had become better known to many as “Thong Man,” served as grand marshal for a parade of thong-wearers vying for free Spurs playoff tickets.
Earlier this month, however, he was arrested for stripping down to a sack. While Gottschalk’s thong had covered body parts required by law, the tan bag he was wearing did not meet that legal standard, according to a police report.
Joseph Gottschalk, 52, received international media attention after the San Antonio Express-News wrote of his habit of riding around Southside Lions Park wearing nothing but a thong.
So in Brewster County the justice of the peace is also the coroner? Does he do that between weddings?
He committed a hanus crime....
I agree. See post #12 above.
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