For readers who live in New Mexico but outside of Taos County. Two Taos County Sheriff Deputies joined a team from Taos Search and Rescue and Bureau of Land Management to retrieve human remains caught in a rapid several miles downriver from the Ro Grande Gorge Bridge. (As is the case with all forms of suicide, most jumpers are, Its difficult to tell this story without examining what that feeling is, exactly. Taos County Sheriff's Deputy Lorenzo Sanchez throws a rope to Taos Search and Rescue's Nathan Oswald on Thursday (April 25) while the team works to dislodge a body from where it became caught in a rapid several miles downstream from the Ro Grande Gorge Bridge. Death on the river First responders recover human remains from Ro Grande Gorge 2018-07-26 - By John Miller [email protected] The Taos News . Add Review. The two moved from the front of the raft to the back, digging paddles into the water to nuance the boats movements. In 2012, they completed, in Santa Barbara, and in March, they installed, as a temporary salve while they considered better, more permanent solutions. Secure transaction. Secure transaction. It was a lofty idea with no known precedent, but Meertens says they wanted to do more for the community than simply put up a fence. accounts, the history behind an article. I wondered if it might satisfy the compelling sense of the deep void below, she says. Under my feet, a long sliver of cerulean Rio Grande roars through billions of years of geologic strata in the canyon below. As Im perched atop a plank-like outcropping in the concrete highway that straddles the Gorges cavernous mouth, Im particularly struck by the vastness of the landscape around me. Just like the dangerously oversimplified, that guns dont kill people; people do, it would be reductive and inaccurate to say that a bridge, Its not that OConnor thinks that bridge did this to him. Taos teen's death renews call for barriers at gorge bridge Suicides/Deaths: Sept, 1990: Patrick Chase, 43, of Taos. Nathan Burton Tags Nathan Burton 2023 New Mexico Nm Cops Suicide Gorge Bridge Jump Death Taos County Sheriffs Department As featured on +3 Had it been approved, GBSNs barrier as well as another similar barrier that was proposed would have cost around $3.4 million to build, a fraction of the $886.4 million budget they had to work with in 2018 and the one-time General Fund bonus of $400 million they received this year due to the states considerable surplus. In 2012, the Gorge bridge also received a $2.4 million facelift, which consisted of some much-needed structural maintenance including new concrete, curbs, ramps and gutters. Miera says one woman traveled all the way from England and left a photographic record of her whole trip in her car. Its frustrating to watch these barriers go up on other suicide bridges around the country, says OConnor, clicking through image after image of freshly retrofitted bridge on her laptop at the Santa Fe coffee shop were meeting at. Morgan Timms/The Taos News, Taos County Sheriff's Deputy Lorenzo Sanchez passes a paddle below the surface of the Ro Grande in an attempt to secure the body Thursday (April 25.) The Taos News mailed to your out of state residence every week for 13 weeks! If the bridge had many visitors that day, having to step closer to the safe but precarious edge to navigate around other people on the sidewalk might thrust them into a shared social space, an effect that could draw them out of isolation, if only for a moment. You may cancel at anytime. The New Mexico State Police said hikers. For readers who live in New Mexico but outside of Taos County. Stay informed of the latest local news by receiving emails as soon as news is posted online. A rafting guide heads down the Rio Grande toward the gorge bridge. As architects and engineers, were tasked with assuring safe housing, transit and welfare to the public, but as the people responsible for creating their environment, isnt it also our duty to consider the impact of what we make on their minds?. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph.. Its also not as if NMDOT has done nothing to address safety on the bridge. That said, most people who jump dont leave notes or explanations, providing little insight into why they chose to end their lives there, on that particular bridge. for 91 days, $85.00 Catalog; For You; The Taos News. Talk about it too little, and nothing gets done to change it. Your auto pay plan will be conveniently renewed at the end of the subscription period. It gets pedestrians safely across. In the months following Beacoms death, she formed the. That theory might check out, too as many studies have shown, the less isolated you feel from your surroundings, the less likely you are to commit self-harm. They could see the body bobbing just beneath the surface of a small rapid. Grossetete had been down the river many times before, but it was the first time she was making the trip to recover a body. Promotional Rates were found for your code. You may cancel at anytime. But, theres also no doubt in her mind that it made a split-second decision too easy. The Rio Grande Gorge Bridge, locally known as the "Gorge Bridge" and the "High Bridge" is a steel deck arch bridge across the Rio Grande Gorge 10 miles (16 km) northwest of Taos, New Mexico. Plus, they argued, there was no funding for it, or any other barrier for that matter. Maybe it would relieve some tension one experiences at the bridge. In a place like the Gorge, where Miera has recovered bodies of people whose parting notes claimed they werent suicidal but just wanted to see what it was like on the other side, that might not be the most outlandish idea. Built in 1965 to provide better vehicular access to New Mexicos more populated areas, it holds a coveted spot in the, , an accolade given to it in 1966 by the, . According to Taos County Sheriff's Lieutenant Marvin Armijo, the . Roughly 600 ft above the Rio Grande, it is the tenth highest bridge in the United States. It takes a special kind of person to come out and do this because you dont know what youre going to find there, she said. TAOS, N.M. Authorities say the death of a man whose body was found on the southwest side of the Taos Gorge Bridge was an apparent suicide. As the boats pulled out of the water in Pilar on Thursday afternoon, she waited alongside Delinda VanneBrightyn, president of Taos Search and Rescue, Chris Kodey, the organizations training officer, and a member of the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator. Instead of pushing people further away from their surroundings in the name of safety, it would use the curative, In the mock-up, they ditch the original guardrail and replace it with. Your auto pay plan will be conveniently renewed at the end of the subscription period. And though several other ideas for barriers were also put forth and received with enthusiasm, the consensus during the meetings was clear: If it works, put it up. Morgan Timms/The Taos News, Taos County Sheriff Deputies Lorenzo Sanchez and Joe Apodaca lift a body into a raft after successfully recovering it from the Ro Grande on Thursday (April 25.) But Taos isnt San Francisco or Toronto. , a 62-year-old landscape architect who knew Beacom, were more than happy to mock one up. Create a password that only you will remember. According to reports overheard on a police scanner, a woman who was with the family was detained by law enforcement and transported to Holy Cross Medical Center for an evaluation after the man jumped to his death. Your auto pay plan will be conveniently renewed at the end of the subscription period. anxiety and depression, Meertens hoped whoever found themselves exhilarated by the barrier might find it cathartic. He wasnt a suicidal kid, and Id never seen him act like that before. Your Rating. Two of its members, Jerry Cannon, a bridge engineer, and Anette Meertens, a 62-year-old landscape architect who knew Beacom, were more than happy to mock one up. Get an email notification whenever someone contributes to the discussion. The water had risen to hide many rocks, but when an obstacle did appear, the oarmen called out commands to Kelly Grossetete, the leader of search and rescues recently formed swift-water unit, or Laeljon Knowles, another search and rescue member who has logged many hours on the river. Your real name will be displayed next to your photo for comments, blog posts, and more! Plan includes unlimited website access and e-edition print replica online. You may cancel at anytime. for 365 days, $75.00 Hes the type of guy who calls you maam and will ring you from his cop car during a homicide pursuit to calmly ask if he can reschedule an interview. More recently, the bridge has also garnered a bit of an IMDb presence, with more than a few walk-on roles in big-budget films like Natural Born Killers, Terminator: Salvation and wait for it Wild Hogs. High near 95F. A former Marine and Taos native, Miera is thorough and polite. Instead of pushing people further away from their surroundings in the name of safety, it would use the curative psychology of thrill to invite them further inside. 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In the small town where funding is sparse and the red tape is thick, getting a barrier built on the Gorge Bridge has proven to be easier said than done. The man, whose identity had not been released as of Tuesday afternoon, was visiting the bridge with family members when he jumped from one of the bridge's railings, which are 4 feet high. Hogrefe identified the man on Monday (Sept. 17) as 60-year-old Robert Diaz of Bedford, Oregon. They shouted over the sound of the water, discussing how best bring it to shore. Then they continued downstream, through the rapids, to Pilar. Just north and west of Taos, New Mexico, the Rio Grande Gorge cuts through the plateau for about 50 miles to depths of 800 feet. In 2012, they completed barrier fencing on the Cold Springs Arch Bridge in Santa Barbara, and in March, they installed four-inch bird spikes on the rails of San Diegos Coronado Bridge as a temporary salve while they considered better, more permanent solutions. Its painful and complicated, and there are no easy answers. This is the route that 48-year-old Taos County Undersheriff, and his team must take to retrieve the bodies of people who commit suicide by jumping from the. We won't share it with anyone else. The Rio Grande Gorge Bridge in Taos, New Mexico, has one the highest bridge suicide rates per capita in the country. A man was reported missing July 5; his car was later found parked at the gorge bridge and was recovered by deputies. Golden Gate Bridge is being retrofitted with a horizontal net to catch falling jumpers as we speak. At times, the trail is only 18 inches wide, barely enough room for a person and the body bag theyre often carrying to squeeze by. To the east, the sloping emerald foothills of the. On a bridge like this, a hand-drawn heart and the words You deserve to live might be helpful to some, but a barrier, the kind that might actually keep you alive, would be helpful to all. Your auto pay plan will be conveniently renewed at the end of the subscription period. For readers who live in New Mexico but outside of Taos County. Meanwhile, Cornell University has added several to their campus over the past few years, and the infamously suicide-prone Golden Gate Bridge is being retrofitted with a horizontal net to catch falling jumpers as we speak. A full day on the river might include the Racecourse with Class 3 rapids, which can swell to Class 4 . The locals all have their theories, but even the ones whove lost children, siblings and friends decline to share them with me its just too risky. Your auto pay plan will be conveniently renewed at the end of the subscription period. Standing on the bridge can be a bit nerve racking, as the cement fluctuates beneath you with each car that passes.