Suicide numbers increasing?

The recent suicide death of a 15-year-old El Dorado County boy has the community talking, but not law enforcement.The number of those taking their lives by jumping off the Foresthill Bridge may be escalating, but officials decline to release hard numbers."Unfortunately the bridge is an attraction for suicides and the number for 2006, are at this stage higher than what they were last year," said Sgt. Brian Whigam, spokesman for the Placer County Sheriff's Department.He said the department does keep records on the number of suicides from the 730-foot bridge, but said the figures will not be released."The department doesn't want to give out the exact number," he said. "We don't want to glorify the location."Unofficial numbers collected by the Auburn Journal as well as the Auburn State Recreation Area estimate that 42 have taken their lives by jumping off the bridge since it was opened in 1973.In less than two months there have been three known suicides from the Foresthill Bridge.The body of a young man known only by "Jessie" was recovered June 27. An unidentified man fell from the bridge just days before the 15-year-old El Dorado County boy and the body of 45-year-old Patricia Van Horne was recovered May 12.Brian Robertson, supervising ranger for the Auburn State Recreation Area, said Thursday the number of suicides from the bridge is cyclical."In the beginning it was such an isolated area," he said. "There would be three to four years without a jumper. Then there would be a year we'd have three or four.He said that since the bridge opened in 1973 to the public. El Dorado and Placer counties have grown and now encircle the 35,000-acre state park."The bridge has become a more visual location," Robertson said. "It's also easier to get to now."Some county officials have voiced concern that the highest bridge in California and the ninth highest in the world draws the despondent.The bridge is in Supervisor Bruce Kranz' district, but he was unavailable for comment Thursday. Jim Holmes, district 3 supervisor, said he didn't know the exact number of deaths related to the bridge "However many it is, it's too many," Holmes said. During a March strategic planning meeting Homes asked for input for the board and discussed grants, funding and the possibility of building a barrier along the half-mile long bridge to prevent jumping."There's a lot of challenges," he said. "You'd have a mile of fencing at a cost of about $600,000."Holmes said there are also structural and aesthetic concerns with adding a fence to the bridge. "People are concerned about the beauty of the bridge," he said. "For me, it's a public issue. My heart bleeds every time I read about a suicide in the canyon." Some question the cost of creating a barrier against the cost of recovering the bodies of suicide victims. Placer County Sheriff Ed Bonne said the cost varies depending on the number of individuals involved, but could easily reach into the thousands for each recovery. "If we have to search the river, there's additional resources involved," Bonner said. "It varies, but it's expensive from a dollars-and-cents perspective, but the greater cost is the emotional wear and tear." Firefighters, search-and-rescue personnel as well as rangers and deputies respond to the scene of a suicide. Additionally, deputies have the duty of notifying the victims' families. "It's the hardest thing we do," Bonner said.The Journal's Penne Usher can be reached at penneu@goldcountrymedia.com.