So on Saturday night, Jessop climbed a ridge near Circleville. Jessop’s brother says the plan was to set an arrow on fire and shoot it toward the ground where it would ignite 51 candles. The candles were set in the shape of a heart with about a 30-foot diameter.
Jessop, who was also 51, never got a chance to shoot the arrow. He fell while on the ridge and died at the scene, says his brother, Willie Jessop.
“They were lighting these fire arrows and kind of making it a surprise,” Willie Jessop said in a phone interview Tuesday, “but because it was late at night, it appears he lost his footing and slipped.