IL Firefighters Rescue Man Threatening to Jump from Bridge

PEORIA, IL—Firefighters rescued a man from the Bob Michel Bridge early Saturday morning.

Crews were dispatched about 1:15 a.m. to the bridge that spans the Illinois River and connects Peoria with East Peoria. When they arrived, they discovered a man on the catwalk beneath the bridge deck and above the water, near the bridge center, according to the Peoria Fire Department.

Police and fire crews tracked the man from one side of the bridge to the other. A rescue boat was dispatched in case the man decided to jump.

After negotiations by officers and firefighters were unsuccessful, members of the fire department's technical rescue team lowered themselves to the catwalk, in almost complete darkness.

They spoke with the man and convinced him to move to the bridge deck. He was fitted with a harness and rope and pulled over the deck ledge. He was then released to police.

The ordeal ended about 4 a.m., and no injuries were reported, the fire department said.

In a separate call about 4:45 p.m. Friday, authorities received reports about a woman who witnesses said jumped off the bridge.

Witnesses at the Embassy Suites hotel along the East Peoria riverfront said they saw a woman in the water, yelling for help, while a strong current carried her south, toward the Cedar Street Bridge.

Rescuers used sonar to scan the river bottom between the bridges. The sonar detected possible human images in the river channel near the Cedar Street Bridge, according to the fire department.

Divers searched the river bed, but nobody was found. The general search ended after several hours.

Marine personnel retrieved a pair of shoes from the water's surface.

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is available 24 hours a day at (800) 273-8255.

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