A British tourist has been stabbed to death in a suspected robbery while on a paragliding trip in Mongolia, police say.
Steve Nash was allegedly knifed in the chest and robbed of his passport and money during the attack in the country's Arkhangai province.
The 53-year-old, from Helsby, Cheshire, died of blood loss and his body was found on September 1, according to local officials.
Now, tributes are being paid to Steve, who has been described by loved ones as 'an experienced adventure paragliding pilot'.
They come as a 31-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of killing the holidaymaker.
The suspect, identified only by his first initial, T, was allegedly found to be in possession of a passport believed to belong to the victim.
He also had £300 in local currency on him at the time of his arrest and had recently been given a suspended sentence for stealing, local police said.
Steve had been journeying across Mongolia with friend, Gareth Aston, but had been forced to continue solo after his companion retired with an injury.
The pair had been crossing the Khangai Nuruu mountain range on their paragliders - a challenge they had previously attempted 10 years ago.
They had been documenting their progress online.
In an interview with Red Bull before his death, Steve said he had around two decades of cross-country paragliding experience.
A final picture of him was posted online on August 31, showing him being wished well for the solo leg of his journey by his friend and two Mongolian hosts.
Steve's wife, Shirley, reportedly noticed the satellite tracking system which he had been using to share the progress of his travels had stopped updating shortly afterwards.
The holidaymaker's family said in a statement: "Steve Nash, age 53, married to Shirley, was an experienced adventure paragliding pilot.
"During August 2016, Steve was on his second spiralling the steppes adventure to Mongolia, when his family were informed that he had died."
Friends and colleagues have posted tributes to Steve online.
Red Bull X-Alps, said to be one of the world's toughest paragliding and hiking races, which Mr Nash competed in, wrote on its website: "Steve Nash was well-known for his positive attitude, mental toughness and his true adventurer spirit."
It added: "We are deeply saddened by this tragic news and our thoughts are with family and friends."
Meanwhile, one friend posted on Facebook: "To lose a friend and to hear his life was taken simply for a few montary (sic) items that will be soon spent or lost has really rocked me. RIP Steve Nash."
At the request of Steve's family, donations have poured in to a JustGiving page to raise money for Wings for Life Spinal Cord Research Foundation.
The page was set up by the paragliding pilot in 2015.
One post on the site said: "I worked alongside Steve. He was as everyone has said, one of the best with an easy welcoming way for everyone he met.
"A fellow biker and a true enthusiast of life, he is and will be missed."
No comments:
Post a Comment