A 25-year-old woman from Detroit who threatened to jump off the MacArthur Bridge Friday afternoon willingly received medical attention as the result of two Michigan Department of Natural Resources conservation officers’ efforts.
Conservation Officer Ben Lasher was patrolling Belle Isle when he was notified by the Michigan State Police dispatch at 12:31 p.m. Friday, about a woman threatening suicide. MSP dispatch received the original call from a relative of the suicidal woman; the relative said the woman was threatening to jump off of the MacArthur Bridge in Detroit.
The MacArthur Bridge connects Detroit and Belle Isle over the Detroit River. The bridge features 19 torches and is 2,193 feet in length. DNR conservation officers and Michigan State Police patrol the island to ensure public safety within and around the state park.
When Lasher reached the scene, two females waved him over and said that a third female (the suicidal woman) located on the other side of the bridge, had asked them to call the police. The two women did not know the suicidal woman.
At 12:33 p.m. Lasher parked his DNR patrol truck on the south side of the MacArthur Bridge near the subject. Lasher walked across the bridge toward the woman who matched the description provided to police. The woman was crying, standing next to the guard rail of the bridge.
“She asked me to stay by my patrol truck at first,” Lasher said. “I was able to talk to her and find out her name.”
While Lasher talked to the woman, he was able to slowly move toward the outside edge of the roadway. During this time, CO Steven Converse, who also was patrolling Belle Isle, arrived at the scene while Michigan State Police managed traffic control.
Converse approached
