. >> smith: free climbing was apparently common for the crew that michael sulfridge worked with. he was a high school dropout still living at home in rural tennessee. >> he wanted to be a cop. but i talked him out of that because i thought that was a dangerous job. i was afraid he'd got shot or something. >> smith: when he got a job tower climbing, his parents weren't happy about that either. >> and we tried to make him quit, but he wouldn't. "i'll be okay, mom," big smile on his face, you know. "don't worry, mom. i'll be okay." >> smith: his mother's fears came tru he was free climbing near the top of this tower in kentucky and lost his balance. >> whenever he lost his balance and fell from the tower, he landed somewhere in this area here on the ground, and in this spiral wire up above was one of his tennis shoes and a work belt. >> smith: randy gray was the investigator for osha, the government agency that regulates workplace safety. >> sometimes i still can't imagine what that boy was thinking whenever he fell off that tower, that very last few seconds. smith: gray quickly dis