CA CA - Erica Maskaleris, 31, Oakland, 7 March 2013

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of all the cases I have followed and read about, Erica's leaves me in tears.

May she be released from the pain in which she had obviously been.
 
I wish they had "suicide nets" under the Golden Gate Bridge :( Why don't they? A friend of mine in HS went to SF on a trip with her family and were walking over the GG and she saw an old man jump off right in front of her, ruined the whole trip and I think it kind of stuck with her, she said she could vividly remember his blue baseball hat floating down after him :( kills me

or why don't they have someone on watch on the bridge to at least attempt to help people.... i think i watched a documentary of a man that lives in Marin county next to the bridge and he spends a lot of time looking through a telescope and if he sees someone he goes and talks to them and invites them back for coffee and someone to talk to - i wish i could remember the name of it! im sure other people here have seen it.
 
Such sad news! My heart goes out to her brother, family and friends as well.
 
So very sorry for this news, Oaktowngirl, condolences to family and friends. I hope Erica is at peace now.
 
Oh no. This is so sad. I just saw this as she's local to several of my relatives in Oakland area. I'm so sorry to hear that she ended her life, and as several people have said I too hope she's at peace. My heart goes out to her family and friends.
 
northxnorthwest said:
I wish they had "suicide nets" under the Golden Gate Bridge :( Why don't they? A friend of mine in HS went to SF on a trip with her family and were walking over the GG and she saw an old man jump off right in front of her, ruined the whole trip and I think it kind of stuck with her, she said she could vividly remember his blue baseball hat floating down after him :( kills me

or why don't they have someone on watch on the bridge to at least attempt to help people.... i think i watched a documentary of a man that lives in Marin county next to the bridge and he spends a lot of time looking through a telescope and if he sees someone he goes and talks to them and invites them back for coffee and someone to talk to - i wish i could remember the name of it! im sure other people here have seen it.
Click to expand...

Northxnorthwest, I know - your post got me wondering how often this happens and it is way, way too often. Over 30 people per year in the last 5 years. :(
http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/2013/01/golden-gate-bridge-suicides-again-top-30-2012

"In 2008, the bridge transit district approved plans to build a $50 million suicide-prevention system. However, the system would not be funded with bridge toll revenue, and it currently faces a $45 million shortfall.

Advocates are hopeful that funding may finally arrive from the federal government. Suicide-prevention projects are eligible to receive funds from the recently passed federal transportation bill."

It didn't happen in time for Erica, but I hope this will help others in the future. That documentary about the man in Marin sounds heartbreaking but inspiring.
 
Somehow I do not like the idea of nets...seems terribly humiliating somehow. JMO
 
cluciano63 said:
Somehow I do not like the idea of nets...seems terribly humiliating somehow. JMO
Click to expand...

Yes I could see how that would be humiliating to be caught in a net especially after making the hard decision to actually jump and just be caught there dangling but I guess there are other options as suicide barriers that aren't so humiliating but could make it difficult for someone to pull themselves up and over the railings.

In Seattle we have the 2nd most "popular" suicide bridge after the Golden Gate and according to this article in 2011 they installed some type of barriers around the edges and since then there have only had 1 suicide off that bridge and before they were having several a year. Underneath the bridge there are offices/house boats/people walking around - so it actually is dangerous to those below if people jump off it, someone had a jumper hit their SUV while they were in it and another went through the roof of a house boat.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/suicide-prevention-week-seattle-bridge-worst-us-stems/story?id=17181654

also interesting:
A University of California Berkeley study of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco analyzed potential jumpers who had been restrained, showing that the overwhelming majority did not go on to kill themselves at a different location.
 
The suicide barriers have been on the table and discussed for years. Unfortunately, funds are short and there are many differing opinions. I know the GGBA stopped keeping public suicide numbers in order to not bring further attention to the bridge as a means to end one's life. There is a lot of suicide-prevention support in the Bay Area.

I lost my husband at a young age due to complications from Diabetes 1, and was devastated, but able to move forward. The first year is the toughest and life changes dramatically. I am so sorry Erica was unable to deal with that tragedy and that she is now reunited with her hubby.
 
http://www.insidebayarea.com/breaki...-missing-oakland-woman-being-treated-possible

Authorities were led to believe that Maskaleris may have jumped from the Golden Gate Bridge after tracking her cellphone to the bridge, where the signal stopped the day she disappeared, according to Oakland Police.
There is also surveillance video that puts Maskaleris on the bridge last Thursday, police said.
Click to expand...

The video from the bridge was recorded several hours after an Oakland bakery's surveillance video captured Maskaleris walking in the 3400 block of Telegraph Avenue on March 7, police said.
Click to expand...
 
Found a few updates that her body was found, but nothing official so can't say for certain to close thread :( RIP Erica, was so sad reading on this case.
 
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