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Topics: Police, Mental Health, Parenting, New York, US News
Poppy Bilderbeck
Topics: Police, Mental Health, Parenting, New York, US News
Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide which some readers may find distressing.
Police say a mom went 'intentionally' off the top of Niagara Falls along with her two young children.
On Monday (October 28) at around 9:00pm, New York state police were called to Luna Island at Niagara Falls.
Tourists at the site reported seeing a mom and two children go off the top of the waterfall.
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New York State Police issued a statement on October 30 identifying the mom as Chianti Means and her children as Roman Rossman and Mecca Means.
The report states the mom and her children as having 'crossed over' the 'safety guild rail' and going 'over' the falls and the incident being 'intentional in nature'.
A member of the New York State police said in an interview with WKBW TV: "We've come to the conclusion that a 33-year-old mother, a nine-year-old son and then a five-month-old were all gone over the falls. 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 evidences 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."
The official noted they 'may be able to' find out and 'solve' the circumstances surrounding why the family went into the falls or 'we may never know'.
However, police don't believe 'any other parties were involved'.
New York State Police's press release concludes: "New York State Park Police and State Police search/rescue efforts were conducted with negative results. This incident deems no public threat to safety.
"New York State Park Police Unmanned Aircraft Systems, NYSPP Marine Patrol, NYSP Aviation, Underwater Recovery Unit, Niagara Falls Police Department and Niagara Charter Schools are assisting in this investigation."
UNILAD has contacted New York State Police for comment.
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.