Chelsea Alvarez

Other Events:

• Eby ID Number: Waterloo-147616
• Misfortune: 2017, , Italy; killed in hiking fall

Notes:

Waterloo woman killed in hiking fall

Waterloo Region Record
By Greg Mercer

WATERLOO A young Waterloo woman died on New Year's Day after slipping and falling while hiking in the mountains of northern Italy with her fiancée and family.

Chelsea Alvarez, 24, fell more than 150 metres while on a hike with Colin Behenna, the former captain of the OHL's Barrie Colts and ex-forward with the University of Waterloo Warriors men's hockey team.

Alvarez was hiking near the Austrian border at an elevation of about 2,200 metres when she lost her balance. She was killed instantly after falling onto rocks in the valley below, according to Italian media reports.

Friends say her family was also in Italy for the holidays, and her two younger bothers were on the hike when she fell.

The tragedy has rippled through Waterloo's hockey community. Alvarez, an engineering graduate from Conestoga College, played hockey for the St. David's Celtics while in high school and on local rep-level teams.

She was also a server at the St. Louis Bar and Grill in Waterloo's north end for the past five years. The bar was a hub for local hockey coaches and players, and Alvarez's tragic death has brought a wave of grief there.

"We're such a tight, tight group. This has rippled through the entire community," said Gus Bastias, a regular at the bar whose friend owns the restaurant.....

When the pair left Waterloo for Italy a few months ago, friends threw a going away party at the Duke of Wellington pub. They encouraged the young couple to travel and explore as much of Europe as they began their young lives together.

"She moved to Europe with him, and was ready to be a hockey wife," Bastias said. "They had their whole lives in front of them, and they were just getting started. I still can't believe she's gone."

Waterloo woman killed in hiking fall. (2017). Therecord.com. Retrieved 3 January 2017, from https://www.therecord.com/news-story/7047413-waterloo-woman-killed-in-hiking-fall/