Rescue teams suspended for a second day on Friday their search of the Connecticut River below the French King Bridge a day after a truck found at a rest stop on Route 2 was determined to belong to a man sought by Norfolk Police.
According to the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office, the truck was discovered — apparently abandoned with its keys inside — at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, at which time a records check revealed it belonged to a man for whom Norfolk Police had issued a “be on the lookout” (BOLO) alert. No body was found after a Montague Police canine search team searched the area around the bridge, which connects Gill and Erving along Route 2, and the rest area where the truck was parked.
Massachusetts State Police Underwater Recovery Team members worked with state environmental police and State Police troopers assigned to the Northwestern District Attorney’s Office as well as members of the Northfield, Turners Falls and Greenfield fire departments to search the river Thursday before the mission was called off at 8:50 p.m. due to light and weather conditions. The search resumed on Friday morning.
The French King Bridge long ago developed a reputation as a suicide spot. The state Department of Transportation announced in February plans to set up safety barriers along the bridge in the summer of 2022. The new barriers are expected to be 9 feet high. The existing barrier, which an engineer previously told the Greenfield Recorder is original to the bridge’s 1932 construction, is about 3½ feet tall.
During a search for a jumper in the spring of 2020, Gill Police Sgt. Jason Bassett said there are six cameras at the French King Bridge, and they take individual photographs in a rotation that lasts two to three minutes. This intermittent photography cannot always capture an image of a jumper.
Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 262.