By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

LULING – The St. Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office was able to identify the man who jumped off the Hale Boggs Bridge in Luling last Wednesday as his body was recovered near the Mississippi River Saturday.

The body of Jake Bodden, 20, of Gretna, was discovered along the Mississippi River levee by family members who had been searching for him since he jumped from the bridge. Capt. Pat Yoes, spokesman for the Sheriff’s Office, said the family notified deputies and the body was recovered.

Passing motorists called Sheriff’s deputies around 9:30 a.m. last Wednesday saying they witnessed someone jump from the northbound side of the Luling bridge. Drivers in the southbound lanes reportedly saw a vehicle parked on the shoulder of the northbound lane and reported seeing a man leave the vehicle and jump over the bridge railing without hesitation.

Yoes said a search was executed at that time with assistance from the U.S. Coast Guard. He said it is not uncommon for family members to participate in the search with police.

Yoes said it is still not known why Bodden decided to jump from the bridge. Bodden was the second person in less than a week to jump from the Hale Boggs Bridge.

On Sept. 28, 53-year-old Pedro Paez of Kenner jumped to his death from the bridge. Authorities sais Paez, who was in a wheelchair, told deputies he was recently diagnosed with a terminal illness and could no longer stand the pain. A tugboat crew recovered his body from the river not long after he jumped.