Search suspended for bridge jumper

Ashdown woman missing since Feb. 8

TEXARKANA - The search for Janice Northcross was suspended Saturday by the Miller County Office of Emergency Services.

According to a report issued by Arkansas State Police, 42-year-old Northcross of Ashdown jumped from an Interstate 30 bridge into the Red River around 1:30 a.m. Feb. 8 during a multivehicle wreck. Northcross was on the icy bridge helping a stranded driver when she jumped into the river to avoid being hit by a jackknifing semitrailer, according to the report.

The Miller County Office of Emergency Services has served as the lead agency in the search. Director Larry Pritchett said a helicopter search Saturday didn’t turn up any signs of Northcross.

Other than a pair of shoes recovered by a search crew, which family members verified as belonging to Northcross, there has been no sign of the Ashdown woman.

“We searched on the river by helicopter almost two hours [Saturday]. We searched from the air from the bridge downriver almost to Garland City. We looked on both sides of the river. We didn’t find her,” Pritchett said Saturday.

Don Ruggles, who has a helicopter service in Texarkana, was the pilot for the mission.

Pritchett said searchers saw objects during the flight that turned out to be logs, stumps and other debris.

“Anything we saw that looked suspicious, we went back and checked. We did not find any personal effects. We checked everything we saw out thoroughly without any luck,” he said.

The Army Corps of Engineers reduced the flow of water from Millwood Lake spillway last Monday, which dropped the level of the Red River near Fulton. Pritchett asked the Corps to reduce the flow so searchers could have an easier time navigating the river’s currents and submerged debris.

Pritchett said high-definition video of both sides of the river and in the middle of the waterway was recorded during the full two hours of Saturday’s search.

“We’re going to study the video to see whether there’s anything we missed. I don’t anticipate finding anything new, but you never know,” he said.

Crews have searched almost continuously since Feb. 8, battling freezing air and water temperatures.

Pritchett said the Red River’s waters are under the jurisdiction of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, which will dispatch game wardens Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays for the next two to three weeks to continue the search.

He said if Northcross is not found, the Miller County Office of Emergency Services may use the helicopter for another search in three to four weeks.

“I want to thank all the agencies. We worked hand in hand with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. We had an all-out search for the lady, put in an all-out effort. We did everything possible. I’m terribly disappointed,” Pritchett said.

Arkansas, Pages 9 on 02/17/2014

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