From the NPS Morning Report:

"New River Gorge National River (WV)
Probable Suicide

Fayette County deputies and rangers were notified of a suspicious vehicle on the New River Gorge Bridge around midnight on November 19th. The officers found a car on the bridge with the keys in the ignition and personal belongings, including a purse, left on the front seat.

They made a hasty search of the area, them employed a thermal imaging unit to scan the gorge. A heat source was identified about 400 feet below the bridge.

On the following morning, personnel from the Fayetteville High-Angle Rescue Team, the Fayetteville Volunteer Fire Department, Fayette Count Sheriff's Office and the National Park Service located and recovered the body of a woman below the bridge.

Identification found in the vehicle revealed that she was a 32-year-old graduate student from West Virginia University in Morgantown. No suicide note was found, but investigators did find a road map of West Virginia which had a route highlighted from her hometown to the vicinity of the New River Gorge, where it stopped.

The body has been turned over to the county medical examiner. Rangers are assisting the Fayette County Sheriff's Office with the follow-up investigation."

Submitted by XXX XXXX, Chief Ranger

Nick
BASE 194