New York mom kills self and two children including 5-month-old in jump from Niagara Falls

A small family is dead after a 33-year-old mother jumped off a ledge at Niagara Falls with her two children, including a 5-month-old babyA mother from New York and her two young children, including a 5-month-old baby, died when she hopped off a ledge at Niagara Falls, according to police.

According to New York State Police, Chaianti Means, 33, casually hopped over the guardrail at Luna Island on Monday night. The famous overlook faces the approximately 200-foot drop of the falls. Syracuse.com reports that rescuers are still looking for their bodies.According to WIVB, police arrived at approximately 9 p.m., and detectives concluded that the plunge was “intentional.” “The circumstances remain under investigation,” state troopers added. Means lived in Niagara Falls with her children, Mecca Means, the 5-month-old, and Roman Rossman, ageA mother from Illinois suffered the same fate in February 2023, but her son lived after she and him leaped from a 90-foot cliff onto the icy banks of the Niagara Falls gorge.The woman died at the bank, but the five-year-old son was saved and taken to a children’s hospital in Buffalo due to a head injury.

After undergoing surgery, the boy’s health remained critical the next day.Moments after the incident, the child appeared to be conscious as he was placed into an ambulance in photos , according to DailyMail. After being carried to the truck for stabilization, he was soon placed aboard a chopper and sent for immediate medical attention.Capt. Chris Rola of New York State Parks Police stated during the investigation, they did not believe the incident was an accident but a grisly suicide attempt. Rescuers were able to descend with ease after the two fell into the gorge near the Cave of the Winds elevator. Firefighters from Niagara Falls managed to climb the ice from the gorge’s bottom to the mother and son’s landing spot.The child was seen being stretchered aboard a waiting helicopter in dramatic video.Her body was flown out of the gorge after the woman was declared dead at the scene. “Niagara falls is a tough place to perform rescues,” said Rola during a press conference. The boy “was stable enough that they were able to carry him out bring him up the elevator to a waiting ambulance.”

“Unfortunately the female is did not make it and she was recovered by the New York State Police Aviation unit and is being taken by the Niagara County Corner,”he said.