ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, March 13, 1997 TAG: 9703130077
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: MCCOY
SOURCE: LISA K. GARCIA THE ROANOKE TIMES
Friends and family of a Roanoke man who fell about 80 feet to his death Saturday said the beer he drank that day did not lead to his fatal fall while hiking near a rock face.
George William Poblett had a reputation as a "risk taker" and a "wild man," according to friends and family, who said he died doing what he loved - enjoying the outdoors.
The 30-year-old construction worker took a chance when he jumped from the top of a cave near the New River and missed a landing; it was a mistake that cost him his life, his sister said.
Jason Forrester watched his friend jump from the top of the mouth of a cave at the New River near Spruce Run and River roads in Giles County. He said the beers that Poblett drank earlier in the day were not a factor in his friend's death.
"He was not drunk," Forrester said. "He was a wild man; he was a daredevil. If he had had nothing to drink that day, he would have done the same thing."
What Poblett did was hike a steep trail with friends and family to reach a cave none of the party had ever explored.
Forrester said some members of the group went into the cave while he and Poblett took another path that wound to the top of the cave's mouth. The men could look almost directly into the mouth of the cave from where they were standing. Instead of taking the path back down to the front of the cave, Forrester said, Poblett decided to hang from a tree branch and jump to a "little landing" or path near the cave entrance.
Poblett missed his intended landing and fell about 80 feet. The rock face in front of the cave "is nearly straight up and down," according to a Giles County sheriff's investigator.
Giles authorities said the cave is on private property but has been frequented by the public for years. Investigator Willie Lucas said the initial investigation revealed that "alcohol may have been a contributing factor" in the fall. Toxicology test results, which will reveal Poblett's blood-alcohol level at the time of the fall, will not be back for three to four months, however.
Forrester said he was not sure what time the group set out to the New River - possibly shortly before 1 p.m. - but that the number of beers he and Poblett consumed would not have impaired the young man. He said he and Poblett drank one beer before leaving Roanoke, "a couple on the way" and one more each on their way up the path to the cave.
"He had a high tolerance," Forrester said. "It would have taken 18 [beers] to get him drunk," he said.
Christina Fox, Poblett's sister, said she took issue with the fact that reports said her brother was "rock climbing."
"He was just out hiking with family and friends to enjoy the outdoors," she said. "He was taking a chance [when he jumped]; that was just George, he took chances."
Rock climbers in the area cringed at the report and its implications about their sport. Several said despite the fact Poblett and his friends were not trying to truly rock climb, the accident would be associated with rock climbing. In effect, it would add negative publicity to a sport that already suffers resistance from private property owners, who fear liability when they allow climbers on their property.
Poblett was a Maryland native, born in Baltimore. He had lived in Roanoke for about two years and worked for Wisneski Construction Co. with two of his brothers-in-law, Fox said. He is survived by a 10-year-old daughter. He relished fishing so much it was an everyday outing for him, Fox said.
"He was a practical joker who could make anyone smile," she said.
Forrester said his friend squeezed every ounce he could out of life.
"He was a real lover of life and lived each day to the fullest," Forrester said. The fall "was just a mistake."
LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshot) Poblett KEYWORDS: FATALITYby CNB