Route 90 bridge jumpers spark multi-agency search

Ocean City officials say they've rarely had to enforce the fact that pedestrians aren't allowed on the Route 90 bridge, but it seems it's time for a refresher.

Wednesday night marked a first for the Ocean City Police Department as it received reports at about 5:15 p.m. that two unidentified males jumped from the easternmost side of the bridge. At its highest point, the Route 90 bridge is 40 feet tall, according to the Maryland Highway Safety Administration.

Emergency officials were still dealing with the repercussions the next day.

Ocean City police spokeswoman Lindsay Richard said Thursday that while she wasn’t aware of any law specifically banning such a jump, pedestrians aren’t allowed on Route 90 to begin with, “so they’d be violating that before getting the chance to jump,” she said.

Ocean City spokesperson Jessica Waters said that she had never heard of anyone jumping off the bridge in recent memory.

"For as long as I've been here, for the last 10 years at least, we've never had anybody jump off the bridge," she said.

Richard said in an email that she is also not aware of any previous incidents in which anyone has jumped from the bridge. 

Though police have seen pedestrians on the bridge before, Richard said it's usually just people who aren't aware they're not allowed to walk across, and even that's an unusual occurrence.

An Ocean City Fire Department boat, the Maryland Natural Resources Police and the Coast Guard searched the area with assistance from the Maryland State Police Trooper 4 helicopter, but no sign of the individuals was found after more than an hour.

However, Richard said it’s likely the two individuals survived.

“Due to clear water conditions yesterday, it’s believed at this time that they were picked up by another boat prior to first responders,” she said.

At about 11 a.m. Thursday, reports of a body being found in the water near 14th Street on the bayside were misleading.

Richard said a man was unconscious in the water and was taken to an area hospital but it was not connected to Wednesday's incident. 

"An individual was found unconscious in the water," she said. "When officers arrived, they found him alive and breathing, and he is currently being transported to the hospital." 

Though pedestrians aren't allowed on the bridge, Richard said the two men who jumped Wednesday evening would likely not have been charged had they been located.

“We’d have just been happy they were alive,” she said.