River Search Ends after Leetsdale Man Returns Home Unharmed

Local police searched the Ohio River early Thursday morning for a Leetsdale man who threatened to commit suicide by jumping off the Sewickley Bridge before determining the man did not jump.

Leetsdale police were initially called at 11:43 p.m. regarding a 19-year-old suicidal man who had left home. Police have not released the man's name.

 Chief James Ersher said officers later received a second call at 12:11 a.m. from the man's girlfriend, who said the man was threatening to jump off the bridge.

“He was actually on the bridge at one point,” Ersher said. 

A witness told police he walked past the man and saw him leaning on his arms with his head down on a cement partition, Ersher said. When the witness asked if the man was OK, the man replied that he was, the chief said.

As the witness walked away, however, the Leetsdale man began following the witness and asking the witness to take his money. When the witness declined to take the cash, the man threw the money over the side of the bridge into the river.

When police arrived, the man was gone. Officers from several agencies—including Moon Township Police, the Neville Island Fire Department, Valley Ambulance and river rescue crews from the area— joined the search through the night.

Chief James Santucci said officers tracked the man's cell phone to the Sewickley Cemetery but did not find him there. The man's mother called police about 7 a.m. Thursday and said the man was safe at home, Santucci said.

Santucci said police have not determined if charges are warranted.