A man jumped to his death Monday morning from the U.S. 29 bridge over the Staunton River near Altavista, the Campbell County Sheriff’s Office reported.
Senior Investigator Mike Milnor said all indications were the incident was a suicide. He said there was nothing to indicate foul play.
Although he said officials are “pretty confident” they know who the man is, Milnor couldn’t release the man’s name since the body hadn’t been positively identified by the medical examiner. He did say the man appeared to be in his mid-30s.
Milnor said the man parked his vehicle on the bridge and jumped from the bridge on the southbound side of U.S. 29 at the Campbell-Pittsylvania line. The sheriff’s office took the vehicle for processing.
He said the sheriff’s office believes the man jumped around 6 a.m. Monday. The body was located in the river about 11 a.m.
Milnor estimated the fall from the bridge to the water to be 75-100 feet.
Two boats, one each from the Altavista Fire Company and Altavista Emergency Medical Services, were involved in the search and recovery of the body. Milnor said the sheriff’s office appreciated their help.
The Virginia State Police and Virginia Department of Transportation assisted by shutting down the right southbound lane while the search was underway.
The incident is still under investigation.