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Dan Fredinburg, the head of privacy for GoogleX and a Google adventurer, died on Saturday morning as a result of a head injury from the Mt. Everest avalanche, his sister posted on her brother’s Twitter and Instagram accounts.
“This is Dans little sister Megan. I regret to inform all who loved him that during the avalanche on Everest early this morning our Dan suffered from a major head injury and didn’t make it. We appreciate all of the love that has been sent our way thus far and know his soul and his spirit will live on in so many of us,” Fredinburg’s sister, Megan, posted. “All our love and thanks to those who shared this life with our favorite hilarious strong willed man. He was and is everything to us. Thank you.”
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The Google Adventurer’s LinkedIn account described his role at Google as “Head of Privacy for Google[x],” “Manage Product Management team for Google’s Privacy team” and “Lead Google Adventure Team.”
Nepal suffered a 7.8 magnitude earthquake on Saturday that shook the central area between Kathmandu and Pokhara and triggered avalanches on Mt. Everest. Fredinburg‘s death is among at least 10 deaths on Everest as a result of the quake.
Fredinburg previously dated actress Sophia Bush before the couple ended their relationship in Aug. 2014. In April 2014, Bush tweeted, “For all concerned, @danfredinburg & team are safe at Camp 1 on #Everest after the avalanche. Please keep the Sherpa’s in your prayers” following an avalanche that Fredinburg survived, but killed 16 sherpas, NBC news reported.
On Saturday afternoon, Bush posted a lengthy message to Instagram, sharing her memories of Fredinburg. She wrote that the news of his death has broken her heart “into such tiny shards,” calling him “one of the great loves of my life. He was one of my truest friends. He was an incredible brother, a brilliant engineer and a damn good man. I’m devastated and simultaneously so deeply grateful to have known and loved him, and to have counted him as one of my tribe.”
Her post can be seen below.
April 25, 4:20 p.m. Updated with Bush’s Instagram pic.
April 25, 2:57 p.m. Updated with a statement from Google’s director of privacy, Lawrence You.
I just had the immensely sad task of sending the following to all Google employees. My thoughts are with everyone in Nepal, and with Dan’s family and friends.
“Early this morning, Nepal experienced the worst earthquake in its history, registering 7.8 on the Richter Scale. Current reports are that over 1,000 people were killed. It’s a terrible tragedy.
Sadly, we lost one of our own in this tragedy. +Dan Fredinburg a long-time member of the Privacy organization in Mountain View, was in Nepal with three other Googlers, hiking Mount Everest. He has passed away. The other three Googlers with him are safe and we are working to get them home quickly.
The Crisis Response team has launched Person Finder[1] for Nepal, and is working to get updated satellite imagery to aid in the recovery effort. Google.org is committing $1M to the response, and we’ll have gift-matching available soon.
Our thoughts are with the people of Nepal, and with Dan’s family and friends during this terrible time.”
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