New York State Police are investigating an apparent death by suicide after a mother and her two young children died in the western region.
New York State Police detail incident
Chianti Means, 33, and her children, 9-year-old Roman Rossman and 5-months-old Mecca Means, crossed the safety guard rail and fell to their deaths at Niagara Falls State Park, the New York State Park Police and the New York State Police said in a news release Wednesday.
Police responded to the incident around 9 p.m. on Monday, when Means and her two children fell over Niagara Falls near Luna Island, connected to Goat Island. The authorities said that the “investigation has determined this incident was intentional in nature,” adding that recovery efforts have not located their bodies.
#REPORT: 33-year-old Chianti Means has been identified as the mother who jumped over Niagara Falls with her 5-month-old baby and 9-year-old son. pic.twitter.com/LFqILTaX0g
— 6ixBuzzTV (@6ixbuzztv) October 30, 2024
Recovery efforts
New York State Police said the family has been very cooperative with its investigation and planned to resume recovery efforts on Thursday, WKBW reported.
New York State Trooper James O’Callaghan told ABC News it took several days to piece everything together. While they are working to determine the motive behind the tragic deaths, he stated that the area “is not somewhere they just stumbled in.”
“Based on the information we have, we do know it was an intentional act, but the reason why is tougher to answer,” he added.
The incident remains under investigation with assistance from the New York State Police Unmanned Aircraft Systems, Aviation, and Underwater Recovery Units.
According to her LinkedIn profile, Means worked as a domestic violence counselor and graduated from the University at Buffalo.
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