Community Bridge jumper likely picked up by boat

CORRECTION: Before being updated, this story incorrectly identified the bridge as the Grand Glaize Bridge. In fact, the jumper plunged into the lake from the Lake of the Ozarks Community Toll Bridge. We apologize for allowing the incorrect information to be posted for several hours.

LAKE OF THE OZARKS, Mo. – The Water Patrol called off the search for a man believed to have jumped Tuesday afternoon from the Community Toll Bridge in Lake Ozark, Mo. There is speculation here but, “The man was probably picked up by a boat waiting under the bridge,” a Water Patrol spokesperson said Wednesday morning.

Emergency responders rushed to the Toll Bridge on Tuesday after a report from a motorist of a man climbing onto the railing of the bridge and jumping into the lake.

The search for the man Tuesday tied up the Water Patrol and Lake Ozark Fire boats all afternoon and into the evening scanning the water with sonar and dragging for a potential body. On Wednesday morning, the Water Patrol was confident continued efforts would yield the same results – nothing.

This is the second time within a month the Water Patrol has responded to bridge jumpers. On June 25, officers located a jumper from the Grand Glaize Bridge and pulled over the boat that picked the man up. The man was issued a warning.

Since the law has no teeth regarding bridge jumping, usually police are reluctantly relegated to issuing warnings or tickets for trespassing if the person leaps from a restricted area of the bridge.

In July 2010, a Kansas man jumped to his death from the Hurricane Deck Bridge in Sunrise Beach, Mo.