Add Review. . 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. In the Taos Box, full-day trips plunge through 17 miles of intensity. It took over two hours before they crossed Powerline Rapid to see a yellow paddle rafters had wedged between some rocks on the west bank of the river, marking where they had tethered the body to the shoreline. The only people not in favor of the Webnet option was, the New Mexico Department of Transportation. 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A man jumped to his death from the Ro Grande Gorge Bridge mid-afternoon Tuesday (March 14), marking the first suicide to be recorded at the scenic landmark since 2021, according to the Taos County Sheriff's Office. A former Marine and Taos native, Miera is thorough and polite. Suspended in mid-air amongst the kaleidoscopic layers of pink and gray rock descending into the canyon below, she wondered if theyd feel more a part of their environment than they had before theyd arrived. Please log in, or sign up for a new account to continue reading. We hope that you continue to enjoy our free content. Two of its members. 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. In 2003, Steve Miera was a young deputy with the Taos County Sheriffs Office when he hiked below the Ro Grande Gorge Bridge to recover the body of a jumper for the first time. The team worked methodically for more than 20 minutes, sometimes stepping into the coursing water to see if another angle might provide a sure grip to pull the body free. Taos Search and Rescue Swiftwater Unit Member Nathan Oswald navigates the "Powerline Rapid" on Thursday (April 25) en route to the site of a body several miles downriver from the Ro Grande Gorge Bridge. Doesnt every one of us want to reach a hand out and help when we hear something like that? Though they listened to the GBSN and incorporated some of their comments in later reports, they rejected their design, arguing that the material would be too easy to cut (Jakob insists thats never happened elsewhere where its used). People need to know what goes on here because if it leads to a solution that saves even one person, then to me, its worth it., Located 10 miles outside of Taos on a sage-dotted stretch of Route 64, the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge is among the tallest, most picturesque steel suspension structures in the country. At least 50 people have died this way since regular records started being kept in 1991, but OMI research scientist Garon Bodor tells me the actual figure is likely much higher. Nathan Burton/Taos News Taos County Sheriff Steve Miera and deputies Joseph Apodaca and Teodoro Flores descend into the gorge early Wednesday (March 15) during a mission to recover the body of a man who jumped to his death from the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge the day before. Low near 55F. Rio Grande Gorge Bridge: Bring a padlock! That in itself is interesting (and beautiful), but a road bridge was built over the (almost) deepest section of the canyon. (OMI), an average of 2.5 people commit suicide by jumping off the Gorge Bridge each year. Drawing on principles of environmental psychology and an emerging field called neuro-architecture a movement that seeks to calm, engage, energize, uplift and empower through the thoughtful design of buildings and public works Meertens set out to create a structure that did the exact opposite of what most barriers intend to do. Especially if you happen to know the person. It gets pedestrians safely across. rise over the distant sparkle of city light while a westward view reveals a canopy of cirrus clouds dyed gold from the setting sun. Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in. Right now, its a safe bridge, says Brasher. 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. Taos County Sheriff's deputies recovered the body of an Oregon man from below the Ro Grande Gorge Bridge on Sunday (Sept. 6), Sheriff Jerry Hogrefe has confirmed. The New Mexico State Police said hikers. A team of rescuers from the Bureau of Land Management, Taos Search and Rescue and Taos County Sheriff's Department rafted to a remote section of the river to recover human remains discovered by rafters of April 23. Golden Gate Bridge is being retrofitted with a horizontal net to catch falling jumpers as we speak. Nathan Burton 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. Man jumps to his death from Ro Grande Gorge Bridge, Sheriff's office: Jumper is first in over a year, Taos County Sheriff's Office plans recovery for body found in Rio Grande Gorge, Sheriff: Body recovered from gorge possible suicide, Officer wounded in weekend shooting in recovery. I know a lot of people who dont like to talk about this, and I can really respect that, Miera says. for 365 days, $4.99 It scars the whole community. Use the 'Report' link on 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. Bomb scare closes part of downtown Santa Fe, Santa Fe ranks No. The Rio Grande Gorge Bridge, locally known as the "Gorge Bridge" or the "High Bridge", [2] is a steel deck arch bridge across the Rio Grande Gorge 10 miles (16 km) northwest of Taos, New Mexico, United States. They hiked over dirt and rocks that could come loose in places, sending smaller stones clattering over the edge and into the silence far below. You have permission to edit this article. I can see why its important that it would be, but right now, were pretty far from having that be a part of the engineering mindset. , but the descent can take hours. The Taos County Sheriffs Department responds to the scene of a jumper from the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge Tuesday (March 14). Still, numbers like those make Taos County a close community of about 32,000 home to one of the highest bridge suicide rates per capita in the country. A few are gut-turning one bastardizes the Nike slogan Just Do It but most are positive, delivering moving words of encouragement to anyone who might read them. Since you viewed this item previously you can read it again. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph.. The Rio Grande Gorge Bridge in Taos, New Mexico, has one the highest bridge suicide rates per capita in the country. accounts, the history behind an article. Itll also be one that, like in Taos, was the result of a community-led effort to petition the local government for change. for 365 days, $71.00 People need to know what goes on here because if it leads to a solution that saves even one person, then to me, its worth it., Located 10 miles outside of Taos on a sage-dotted stretch of Route 64, the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge is among the tallest, most picturesque steel suspension structures in the country. for 182 days, $58.46 Unless there are witnesses or a suicide note, its difficult to know whether someone jumped intentionally or fell by accident, and the bodies of some suspected jumpers are never identified or found. In a couple of states to the west, it appears that agency is at least in part , , the California equivalent of NMDOT. While the jumpers decision might hold for them the promise of an end, for the people who must interface with the grisly scenes they leave behind, the cycle of trauma never seems to. Though public records show nearly everyone with a dog in the fight wants one and preliminary measures have been taken to get it done, there hasnt, to this day, been any change to the bridges original structure that would deter people from jumping. Suspended in mid-air amongst the kaleidoscopic layers of pink and gray rock descending into the canyon below, she wondered if theyd feel more a part of their environment than they had before theyd arrived. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism Your auto pay plan will be conveniently renewed at the end of the subscription period. Every day, I wish this wasnt a part of my job, he says. Miera, of course, has gone down to collect almost every one. for 91 days, $53.46 At the same time, Meertens also considered whether their barrier might provide a healthy sense of engagement for those who came to the bridge feeling isolated or alone. According to Taos County Sheriff's Lieutenant Marvin Armijo, the . After 24 years in law enforcement, though, Miera knows the toll each recovery takes. We won't share it with anyone else. Secure transaction. You'll receive FIVE of our top national magazines, including Discover Taos Winter Edition, Discover Taos Summer Edition, Taos Gallery Guide, Fall Festivals, and Best of Taos, delivered to your home address anywhere in the US for the special low rate of $55. As I look down at the guardrail to find the word Jump scribbled in black Sharpie, I wonder if Beacom or any of the people Miera has recovered felt those same things, too. Under my feet, a long sliver of cerulean Rio Grande roars through billions of years of geologic strata in the canyon below. On Thursday (April 25), Miera, now 47 and holding the rank of undersheriff, drove out to the west end of the gorge to look for signs of rafters paddling downriver on a mission to recover another body, the 27th, he estimates, since he first hiked below the bridge. For us, its safety first., Yet, when Meertens and GBSN presented the design at a series of stakeholder meetings to advance the issue in 2017, all the key players in town were on board. They could see the body bobbing just beneath the surface of a small rapid. Its an objectively good-looking view, but as my gaze focuses on more proximate landmarks a crumpled stop sign tossed carelessly over a barbed wire fence, a stuffed polar bear lying lifelessly in the dirt Im reminded of the darker stories the bridge has to tell. 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. It escalated so quickly, she remembers, the downturned creases around her ice-blue eyes wearing an expression of continued disbelief. Though they listened to the GBSN and incorporated some of their comments in later reports, they rejected their design, arguing that the material would be too easy to cut (Jakob insists thats never happened elsewhere where its used). Since Beacom jumped in 2014, 16 others have followed suit, including a 14-year-old boy. Isabelle Kohn is a sex and relationships journalist, educator and consultant who, for some reason, keeps writing about livestock instead. that is degrading to another person. The bridge was started in 1963 and completed in 1965. Before he was reported missing on April 5, Anthony Hildebrand, 35, had moved to Taos to work with the Earthship community on the mesa west of the Gorge Bridge. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, . When they arrived, Beacom was on the bridge. You have permission to edit this article. Its just not something you want to be known for as a town.. in many countries around the world have made suicide barriers an increasingly common feature on bridges both at home and abroad. But as our community started to challenge us to do something about it, the mentality of the folks on the board shifted.

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