Marg. developers die in heli-skiing incident up north

By Mallory Panuska Staff Writer

(Feb. 3, 2023) A Margaritaville resort planned for downtown Ocean City is still on, but the project experienced a major loss last week with the unexpected death of two executives of the project’s development company.

According to various national news reports, Tim Kinsley, 57, and his brother, Jon Kinsley, 59, were killed in an avalanche while heli-skiing on Jan. 23 in British Columbia, Canada.

Tim Kinsley, the president of Pennsylvania-based Kinsley Properties, was the point person for the 13story, 265-room Margaritaville hotel and resort slated for the former Phillips Beach Plaza Hotel property between 13th and 14th streets.

“Tim, he was primarily responsible. It was his company, it’s his project. He’s the one that passed away in the skiing accident in British Columbia,” local attorney Hugh Cropper, who represents the developers, said Monday.

Cropper added that he has been in touch with other company officials and said that they plan to “move forward on the exact same path” for Margaritaville in Ocean City in the wake of the brothers’ death.

Tim and Jon, the president and chief operating officer of Kinsley Construction, were reportedly caught in a slide in Revolstoke. B.C., while on a guided tour with CMH Heli-Skiing.

Heli-skiing is an adventurous type of snow skiing in which skiers are taken by helicopter to off-trail, remote areas to experience natural terrains and fresh, untouched powder.

A statement from the company said that an avalanche hit the area where the brothers were skiing in the late afternoon last Monday.

“Three individuals were caught in the slide with two fully buried and one partially buried,” the statement said. “The individuals were located by their transceivers and extracted from the snow.”

Reports said the Kinsley brothers and their guide were airlifted to the nearest hospital. While the guide was reported in stable condition, Tim and Jon were pronounced dead upon arrival.

Kinsley Enterprises, the parent company of Kinsley Properties and Kinsley Construction, released a statement on the company’s website soon after the incident expressing their heartbreak and sadness over Tim and Jon’s deaths.

“Our entire Kinsley family is still processing this heartbreaking news of their

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