Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide which some readers may find distressing
Police have issued an update on the case of Chianti Means, who authorities say ‘intentionally’ jumped to her death alongside her two children after climbing over a barricade at Niagara Falls.
Means lead her nine-year-old son, Roman Rossman, and her five-month-old daughter, Mecca Means, to Luna Island, located on the US side of the falls, at around 9pm on Monday (October 28).
According to the official report, Means, who’d made two final Facebook posts a month prior to the incident, had ‘crossed over’ the ‘safety guild rail’ before going ‘over’ the falls, with the incident being ‘intentional in nature’.
As per The Independent, the report continued: “The investigation has determined that this incident was intentional in nature, though the circumstances remain under investigation. New York State Park Police and State Police search/rescue efforts were conducted with negative results.
“This incident deems no public threat to safety.”
Means was 33 when she leapt over the edge of Niagara Falls to her death with her children (Facebook/Diamond Scott)
A search and rescue was conducted to locate and retrieve the bodies, and now, a spokesperson from the New York State Police provided a statement about the matter, revealing details about the incident to WKBW TV on October 30.
He said: “We do believe it was intentional but the circumstances of that investigation and the circumstances of what actually happened are still under investigation.
“But we know that they went over due to the information from park police and some of the information we were able to obtain through multiple different sources in and around Niagara Falls and pieces of evidence we were able to come across in search warrants.
“They went there and they never came out. So that’s where we’re at. […] Like I said there’s a lot of safety railings, a lot of security measures at the state park so it’s not something where they just stumbled in.”
When asked if the bodies had been found, the spokesperson confirmed: “No, not at this time.”
He also explained a little more about the terrain they’d jumped into on Luna Island in the New York side of the Niagara Falls.
Luna Island is pictured at the right of falls on the left hand side, and has a rocky terrain at the bottom (Getty stock)
He continued: “This location to put it into perspective is right on the edge of Niagara Falls so you can see the falls crest right over, it’s a vantage point where people would go not to view the falls but to be right next to the falls.
There is quite a bit of height difference but it’s not as much the height, it’s the rocks and terrain that’s at the bottom – it’s not like you’re jumping, you know, into a pond or some fresh body of water; it’s very rocky, the terrain is obviously very deadly.”
The Independent also reports that unmanned aircrafts and water units are being used in the investigation.
If you or someone you know is struggling or in a mental health crisis, help is available through Mental Health America. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org. You can also reach the Crisis Text Line by texting MHA to 741741.
If you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call National Suicide Prevention Helpline on 1-800-273-TALK (8255). The Helpline is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
