FAMILY FUN – Crystal Johns holds her son Zayne , 2, as she follows her son Ezekiel, 4, up an inflatable slide Saturday at Xoots Elementary School during the annual Spring Carnival. The event included games, prizes, cotton candy, and karaoke. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)
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Sentinel Staff Writer
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Sentinel Staff Writer
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Sentinel Staff Writer
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Daily Sitka Sentinel
Washington Man Dies After Jump Off Sitka Bridge
By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
A Washington State man who jumped off O’Connell bridge Friday was found dead in Sitka Channel Saturday afternoon, police said.
The body of Tyler Jones, 29, of Bellingham, Wash., was recovered by a Sitka dive team shortly after noon Saturday. The body was found at a depth of 30 feet, about 50 feet from the Japonski Island shoreline, said Sitka police Lt. Lance Ewers.
Ewers said police received a report at 11:42 p.m. Friday that a man was in the water under the bridge. When the man was not located immediately, a search was started, and continued with Coast Guard overflights Saturday morning.
Police said the investigation indicated that Jones was with a friend Friday night, when he decided to jump off the bridge and swim to shore. The friend tried to talk him out of it, without success, Ewers said.
After asking his friend to meet him on the beach with his clothes, Jones reportedly took off most of his clothes and jumped off the bridge near the support pier closest to Japonski Island.
When Jones did not appear within a half hour after he jumped, the friend called police, Ewers said.
The Sitka Fire Department search and dive teams, a Coast Guard helicopter and police officers on the city emergency response boat took part in the ensuing search.
Ewers said the search went from about midnight Friday until 2 a.m. Saturday, and resumed at 8 a.m. Saturday until Jones’ body was found around 12:25 p.m. Saturday.
Ewers said police gave a disorderly conduct warning about a month ago to another man who jumped off the bridge and swam to shore.
A video of that jump was posted on YouTube.
That jump occurred at high tide and during daylight hours, and Jones jumped at night and at low tide, Ewers noted.
“Jumping off the bridge is an awful idea, a terrible idea,” Ewers said. The next person to try it will be charged criminally, he said.
“When you create a hazardous condition with no legitimate purpose, that is a criminal offense,” Ewers said. He said the incident Friday night not only caused a man’s death, but also put the searchers at risk.
Next of kin was notified, and the body will be sent north to the State Medical Examiner’s office for autopsy. “It is unknown whether alcohol was a factor,” Ewers said in a news release.
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20 YEARS AGO
April 2004
The 7th Annual Honoring Women dinner will feature Roberta Sue Kitka, ANS Camp 4; Rose MacIntyre, U.S. Coast Guard Spouses and Women’s Association; Christine McLeod Pate, SAFV; Marta Ryman, Soroptimists; and Mary Sarvela (in memoriam), Sitka Woman’s Club.
50 YEARS AGO
April 1974
Eighth-graders Joanna Hearn and Gwen Marshall and sixth-graders Annabelle Korthals, Jennifer Lewis and Marianne Mulder have straight A’s (4.00) for the third quarter at Blatchley Junior High.
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