Editor's Note: Updates story with identity of the victim and background information.
A Lake Forest woman who was last seen on Monday night has been identified as the victim of an apparent suicide jump off the Santa Margarita Parkway Bridge.
The body of Michele Ann McKay was found below the bridge Saturday, a little after 10 a.m., 63 feet below the main artery that connects Rancho Santa Margarita to Mission Viejo.
The Orange County Coroner has pegged her fatal injuries as occurring Tuesday. She was discovered by passersby from the bridge, who contacted the Orange County Fire Authority.
The Orange County Sheriff assisted on the call and confirmed that the woman was deceased in the creekbed.
"To my knowledge, there were no witnesses to the event," said Lt. Brian Schmutz, chief of police services in Rancho Santa Margarita. "It did not look like a recent jump."
McKay was 56. A 25-year resident of Lake Forest who had raised two children, she was identified through fingerprints.
Her family indicated that and requested help from Orange County residents earlier this week to keep an eye out for her. They believed she might have headed for the beach after leaving her home on Monday, about 10 p.m.
The Coroner's office indicated an autopsy next week will determine the cause of death.
Her family described the insurance claims adjuster as "distraught" and that recent financial and medical issues were the likely cause of her disappearance. Her sister, Mary Schaffer, said recent circumstances were "maxing out [McKay's] capacity to cope."
Her disappearance was out of character and shocked family members, Schaffer said.
Wearing workout attire and running shoes, McKay jumped mid-span from the inland side of the westbound lanes.
The initial call to the OCSD was 10:19 a.m.
The bridge, which rises about 63 feet over O'Neill Regional Park and spans Trabuco Creek, has been the site of six deaths in the past, two accidental and four suicides. The first occurred in November, 2005 when Jennifer Lee Hashimoto, 35, tried to retrieve an item that flew out of her car and hopped the interior railing thinking there was a median between the east and west spans; there is not.
The most recent successful suicide attempt was Aug. 4, 2010; Joseph Feeley, the second suicide in a four-month span, was not discovered until four days later.
On June 12, 2011, Stephen Beckman jumped off the bridge and survived with critical injuries, only to jump off the Oso Parkway bridge on July 7, 2012, while his mother looked on. Beckman was kept alive for several days so that organs from his body could be harvested. He is believed to be the only known survivor from the Santa Margarita Parkway Bridge.
Rancho Santa Margarita deputies, and those in nearby Las Flores, have been busy over the last few months. , Deputy Tim Africano climbed a fence about eight feet above the Banderas Bridge and grabbed a teenager who was on the other side; the boy went limp in an effort to fall and Africano straddled the fence and held the boy with one arm until additional officers arrived to assist pulling him up and over the fence.
, Deputy Felipe Martinez tackled a despondent 20-year-old who was on the outside ledge of the Antonio Parkway Bridge at Cañada Vista Park; other officers had distracted the man allowing Martinez to make the grab.
On March 30, Deputies Maria Bowman and Richard Oates approached a man on the railing of the Santa Margarita Parkway Bridge and talked him down. On April 28, 1011, Deputy Joses Walehwa engaged a 21-year-old Trabuco Hills man on the bridge long enough for a crisis team to arrive and coax him to safety.
Anyone contemplating suicide should immediately talk to a professional who is trained to guide individuals through pain and life crises. For more information about suicide or help, consider the following:
Websites
- Orange County Suicide Prevention Resource page: http://www.ocgov.com/ocgov/Health/Mental%20Health/Suicide%20Prevention
- American Foundation for Suicide Prevention:
www.afsp.org - Suicide Prevention Network:
www.spanusa.org - Suicide Prevention Resource Center:
www.sprc.org - American Association of Suicidology
www.suicidology.org - The Trevor Project
www.thetrevorproject.org
1-866-488-7386
Crisis Prevention Phonelines
- Local Toll free Number for Emergency Psychiatric Evaluation in Orange County - 24/7365: 866-830-6011 or 714-834-6900
- National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week: at 1-800-273-TALK (8255),
- Youth Crisis Hotline, 24 hours a day 1-800-HIT-HOME (448-4663)
When I read "Things will get better", I understand that to mean "I have no idea things will get better because I, like everyone else, can't predict the future" (but it sounds good and it doesn't cost me anything so, like "Good Luck" or "Have a nice day", it is basically an empty, uncommitted, anchorless phrase)
211 is the go-to number for all needs when you are down and out. They are there, 24/7, to help and guide you to those who might help. Everyone should keep this number top in their mind for ANYONE in need. My favorite, Saddleback is always there for you, to hear and guide you. And don't think of it as 'religious', think of it providing for your short-term needs and then helping you realize the importance of your life, and put it to good purpose. With purpose, we all have a better life, less depression.
You must be very old and well-read and versed to espouse so much experience and knowledge. To address people with such emotional distress, you might want to redirect your learning to visiting some of the area shelters, food pantries, etc. Groups such as Families Forward, or Comfort, Hope and Promise (and many more) can use your volunteer efforts to see, observe, learn and help with what the real issues are and what types of solutions are needed. For lack of volunteers and funding and brilliant people, such as yourself, many of our at-risk neighbors are not getting the support they need to avoid suicide. ACTION speaks louder than words....
And there IS a "God", yet of course that doesn't necessarily mean that there is a wise, and sage, all powerful, all knowing, all seeing, all LOVING entity watching over each and every Souled Critter on the planet, 24-7, with but a little hiatus for Christmas Holidays---and THAT is why "God" has been instilled/installed in each of us (The God Chip I call it) , within that SOUL you do not believe in. Cont.
The KJ version of The Holy Bible has the hand of MAN all over it, so most of what is in there TODAY (and for the past several hundred years since it was adopted) is surely tainted----but then again, there are ancient texts that precede what is in The KJ version , and most all of The Book of Genesis came from those most ancient texts---of course they were tweaked a bit to suit MAN'S desires---and those ORIGINAL ancient texts not only show far beyond a doubt that MAN himself has tampered with the contents (when comparing The KJ version to the ancient texts from which they sprang), but they also show there is another, much more compelling story behind the "story" that Christian's and other's of a religious bent have been force fed as TRUTH. In closing, trust me Bunky, there IS a universal power that IS NOT a part of what is in that there bible I have been speaking of---what is in there is a truth in and of itself, to a degree, but a truth tampered with, and tempered by MAN, since the WHOLE truth would be quite difficult for most people to accept thanks to many years of EARTHBOUND indoctrination. So please take you some solace, because Uncle Vinny has now bestowed a SOUL upon you, which may turn out to be a good thing for you when eternity comes ta knockin' at your door.
I don't trust you.
'Course if we was talkin' Islam, some radical's might could maybe wanna redecorate your neck with a big ol' slice through...And that there is one of things that always makes me rather amazed: Ishmael (Islam), and Issac both hail back to Abraham (his sons by two different wimmin's) , yet the religions they each are affiliated with, and thought to be founders, or co-founders of, are bitter enemies to the death...and both religions do accept Abraham as an integral part of thier religious foundation, and beliefs...curious, no? ***** Hey, hey, hey, HEY Js, Charles is entitled to his opinion, and these Patch's are Topic/Reply oriented, and so then it follows that many opposingt opinions may be represented thanks to the Topic presented....easy thing to do, barring kicking someone out because you disagree with thier opinion, is to skirt over their Posts....pretty simply, huh?
This is not a story about God and religion and this is not the place to debate it. Simply accept that others have differing opinions, and if someone wants to say "God bless you," others may be inclined to say "I wish you the best." In defense of Janie D., I asked the question at the bottom of the story why so many contemplations of suicide this summer and she provided her opinion. That's cool. Turning it into a political issue maybe not as cool. But she brings up valid points. Be respectful of everyone, please. @EVanH, two of the deaths on the Santa Margarita Parkway Bridge were accidental; only one (the first) was mentioned in the story. @Js, you make good points about Charles' commenting -- he is committed to his anti-God bias and often responds too much. However, you can't call him a soulless pervert, so your comment has been deleted. @Charles -- dude, dial it back a bit. Everyone knows where and how you stand; don't get in a spitting contest over this stuff. The stories of suicide, suffering and tragedy are not the places to wage your battles. @mfriedrich and @Chris McLaughlin ... good list and good idea, I will add to the end of the story. Remember, keep it classy, smart and respectful.
Suicide IS the ultimate selfish act, and if it ONLY impacted the person who decides to check out early by whatever means, it would be no biggie---BUT, again, loved ones are effected in a big way...
You seem remarkably sure that there's a political angle to this woman's suicide? Please explain. Are we seriously to believe that every time an individual decides to commit suicide because they are medically and financially distraught that there's an automatic cause to action against whoever happens to be President or in Congress? How exactly do you deduce that a woman's suicide is linked to "things..." that "have been building for about 4 years now" ? What evidence do you have of this? 4 years? Why not 5 years? Why not 1 year? The fact is Liz, you and your compadre Janie, have no idea why this woman committed suicide. It could be any combination of things. I'm sure your political opinions are just fascinating, but I think it's insensitive and inappropriate to take this poor woman's suicide and make extraordinary claims of linkage to political or macro-economic situations that you don't even understand yourself. On a side note, I recommend you publicly apologize to the family for supporting arguably the stupidest comment yet on this story.
For those who don't care to believe that either religion or politics is, or should be involved: OK...Then what are YOU doing to help? Keeping your eyes open every day for someone in need, who you might engage and direct to (or become) a support line? Passing the buck gets harder as the numbers increase and resources decrease. We can be those 'safety nets' on the bridges, and highways and other places where people decide to give up. (BTW, hugs go a long way to help a depressed person. AND, letting them share one with YOU... empowers them to feel worthy. TRY THAT!) I hope this family will find the strength to help each other, and find external help. Their loss must be horrific. I hope they will seek the support, and find it, to move forward in this crazy world. I cannot imagine their pain, but hope there will be some relief, in time.
That is an excellent idea...or even area fencing company? .but first an architect has to design it to meet all needs in compliance with city regulations. And, as funding is being reduced for so many things, maybe you and/or some friends could approach Lowes and/or Home Depot, with a special 'project request'. And you might want to put feelers out for the special architect, and read up on the procedures required. Again, passing that buck is easy. But, especially these days, there are fewer 'receivers'....so finding ways to pitch in, ourselves, is a big plus.