Massive search follows warning

Apr 18 2008 by David Holmes, Chester Chronicle

Massive search follows warning

A MASSIVE air and water search got under way this week after a person reported seeing a woman looking as though she might jump from a bridge into the River Dee.

Police received a call from a witness who was worried about the woman, who was on the A55’s bridge over the Dee near Eccleston at about 6.45pm on Monday.

Emergency services sprang into action, with Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service launching its boat and the police scrambling its plane.

Both have thermal imaging cameras which can detect a person’s body heat.

Four fire crews were also sent to the scene, along with a specialist line rescue unit, an ambulance and police vehicles.

A search of the river banks was made, involving a tracker dog.

There was no trace of the woman after more than two hours and the search was abandoned as night fell.

Dave Murray, of Cheshire Police, said: “We got a call from an independent witness reporting a female who ‘looks like she is going to jump off the Dee bridge over the A55.’

“Nobody has seen anybody jump, but there has been a search.”

Mr Murray added: “We have got to take calls like this seriously and make a search.

“Our primary purpose is to preserve life and property.”

He said there was nobody missing in Cheshire who was being linked to the incident.

Ant Jones, watch manager of Green Watch from Chester fire station, said: “We practise and train on the river and we put our full plan into attack.

“Nothing was found so until we get confirmation from the police that there is somebody missing who matches that description then maybe it never happened.’’