YouTube star Grant Thompson, known for founding the King of Random channel on the popular video website, died in a paragliding crash earlier this week, several reports indicate. Thompson is survived by his wife and four children. He was 38.
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Thompson’s death was confirmed by a number of King of Random social channels, including but not limited to YouTube and Instagram. The King of Random YouTube channel, which was largely hosted by folks other than Thompson at this point, uploaded a brief video memorial yesterday confirming the tragic news.
“It is with great sadness to inform everyone that Grant Thompson passed away last night,” the video’s description reads. “Grant had great love and appreciation for his fans. We invite you to share your thoughts for Grant and the channel in the comments. Please do a random act of love or kindness today in honor of The King of Random. Grant’s legacy will live on in the channel and the global community he created.”
At this point, it is unclear exactly what happened to cause the crash. A report from the Washington County Sherriff’s Office states that a pilot, since identified as Thompson, failed to return on a paraglider near Sand Hollow State Park in Utah on July 29th, triggering a call to the office. His body was later discovered after his cell phone’s GPS data was used to determine his location. The paragliding equipment and video recording gear were recovered.
