Las Vegas Sun

March 18, 2024

Hoover Dam bypass bridge used again for leap to death

The Hoover Dam Bridge Dedication

Justin M. Bowen

A view of Hoover Dam from the pedestrian walkway on the Mike O’Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge is shown Thursday, October 14, 2010, during the bridge’s dedication.

Map of Mike O’Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge

A woman jumped 900 feet to her death from the Hoover Dam bypass bridge shortly before noon Monday, according to Metro Police.

Metro Police were called to the Mike O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge after a man witnessed a woman jump off the bridge's pedestrian walkway at 11:59 a.m., said Metro spokesman Marcus Martin.

The witness described the woman as wearing a turquoise shirt and khaki pants, Martin said. About 30 minutes after the call came in, a woman's body was found in the water near the base of Portal Road, Martin said.

Metro Police and the Hoover Dam Police are now conducting a suicide investigation, Martin said.

The Clark County coroner was en route to the scene at 1:30 p.m., Martin said. The coroner's office will release the woman's name, cause and manner of death after her next-of-kin are notified.

The woman is the fourth person to jump from the bridge, which opened in October 2010. The last suicide on the bridge occurred 11 days ago.

In April, Patricia Oakley, a 60-year-old San Jose, Calif., resident was the first to commit suicide by jumping off the bridge.

The following month, a young Arizona man jumped to his death.

On July 12, a Jacob Gerard Foreman, a 39-year-old North Las Vegas man, leapt to his death after Hoover Dam Police and Metro Police spent about two hours trying to dissuade Foreman from committing suicide.

The 1,900-foot-long bypass bridge – which spans Black Canyon – is downstream of the Hoover Dam. It is the country's second-highest bridge.

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