A call from a concerned woman who said an individual may have fallen or jumped off an Elyria bridge Thursday night prompted a search of the Black River areas by authorities, but the search was called off about an hour and a half after authorities yielded no results in a potential victim.
A call came in to dispatch at around 7:30 p.m. from a woman who stated she saw a male wearing dark clothing on the bridge on Lake Avenue, located at the west branch of the river, according to Elyria fire Capt. Jamison Norris. The woman said she looked away from the bridge briefly and upon looking back, the individual was gone. She did not witness the man jump or fall, authorities said.
The fall would’ve been about 75 feet, Elyria Fire Lt. Rick Thrasher said.
Responding agencies included the Lorain County Swift Water Rescue Team and Elyria Fire Department Swift Water Rescue Team, Homeland Security, Avon Fire Department, LifeCare and the Elyria Police Department.
Three two-man groups of firefighters suited up in diving suits at about 8 p.m. and scoured all shores and banks of the river on foot to locate the potential victim in the case that he was alive.
The search concluded around 9:20 p.m., and authorities confirmed no living or deceased individual was found. Crews ultimately decided to not launch their rafts for a dive search in the river. Thrasher explained if there was an individual in the water, he would have been there for at least an hour and a half since the reported fall, and would’ve most likely already died.
The speed, depth and flow of the river, as well as the safety of authorities searching in the dark and icy areas, were factors that ultimately prompted authorities’ decision to call off the search for the night and not commit further resources at that time, he added.
‘I don’t want to see anyone get hurt for no benefit,’ Thrasher said.
Authorities also determined that if there was a man in the water, the river’s flows were limited and he would not have made it to the confluence as they did not see more than 2 feet of water in the search.
Authorities said the search and decision to end it for the night was difficult in that the information provided by the initial caller was very vague as she did not have additional information on the potential victim. Authorities interviewed customers at Shop Way, 175 Lake Avenue, near the bridge but were unable to gather eye witnesses or any further details, Thrasher noted.
Thrasher said he would work with Elyria Fire Chief Rich Benton to determine a course of action for the morning of Dec. 12 in regards to a continued search of the river for a possible body, which he said would most likely take place sometime in the morning or afternoon.
