Police say a person who jumped off the Juneau-Douglas Bridge, prompting a U.S. Coast Guard search, Saturday evening made it to shore, according to witness reports.
“We haven’t been able to locate anyone involved to confirm what happened,” Lt. Krag Campbell, a Juneau Police Department spokesperson, told the Empire later that evening. “At this point, witnesses reported that the person made it safely to shore.”
According to Campbell, the U.S. Coast Guard responded to conduct a search after the initial report of the jump into the water occurred at 7 p.m., and a helicopter was later used to assist with the search. Multiple attempts by the Empire to reach the Coast Guard for additional information were unsuccessful.
In a JPD news release Sunday morning, “based on witness statements, the person who jumped off of the bridge made it safely to shore.”
According to Campbell, a witness of the incident said that Saturday evening they heard someone “yelling to another person in the water” and then saw a person, described as a good swimmer, in the water swimming toward Overstreet Park near the “Takhu” whale sculpture.
The witness could not confirm if the person made it to shore, the JPD release stated.
Later another witness called JPD to say they saw two people walk along the bridge before one of them jumped off. The witness said the person made it safely to shore, according to Campbell.
Capital City Fire/Rescue Chief Rich Etheridge told the Empire Saturday evening that CCFR was not involved in the search. City and Borough of Juneau Harbormaster Matthew Creswell also said CBJ Docks and Harbors was not involved in the search.
• Contact reporter Clarise Larson at clarise.larson@juneauempire.com or (651)-528-1807.
