Agencies search for three fall victims in Niagara River Gorge

Oct. 30—New York State Police and State Park Police conduct a grim search for the bodies of a Falls woman and her two young children after all three died in an incident investigators call “deliberate in nature.” “

State Police troopers, along with park police officers, were dispatched to Goat Island around 9 p.m. Monday to investigate eyewitness reports of a woman and two children descending into the Niagara River rapids at the edge of the falls.

“It’s a small area at the crest of the falls that we believe they entered,” Trooper James O’Callaghan, state police public information officer, said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon. “The circumstances of how this happened is the part that we may be able to uncover, or we may never know. I won’t go into detail about what the witnesses saw because it’s still an active case, but what they told us is alarming.” “

O’Callaghan and other law enforcement sources also said the incident was captured on video by surveillance cameras at the state park and at the edge of the falls.

Authorities identified the victims as Chayanti Means, 33, of Falls, her son Roman Rossman, 9, and her daughter Mecca Means, 5 months.

By Wednesday afternoon, park police drones and Marine units were searching the lower Niagara River Gorge in an attempt to recover the victims’ bodies. They were assisted by the State Police Underwater Recovery Unit and a helicopter.

Falls police also reportedly assisted in the investigation.

“We started with what little information we had and over the course of the night and (Tuesday) we came to the conclusion that a 33-year-old mother, 9-year-old son and a five-month-old baby had gone over the falls. ” said O’Callaghan. “We believe this was intentional, but the circumstances of what actually happened are being investigated. They definitely went there that night and none of them came back. Thanks to the information, we know this was an intentional act, but the reason is a more forceful response.”

O’Callaghan said investigators believe Rossman entered the water first. Afterwards he said, “It was a ripple effect.”

The police officer said a five-month-old girl entered the water next, followed by her mother. Asked whether Means had targeted children, O’Callaghan replied bluntly: “No, we believe it was intentional.”

Investigators said Means and the children climbed over a 3- to 4-foot safety railing to enter the water.

“It’s not so much the altitude, but the fact that the terrain is very dangerous,” O’Callaghan said.

Detectives from the State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation are conducting a thorough investigation into the incident, he said.

“We needed to get families, schools involved. We needed to get a lot of information,” O’Callaghan said. “The search warrants require going to some houses to see if we can get some information, some kind of preliminary plan.”

A state police spokesman said the fathers of both of Means’ children were “very cooperative.”

“Very happy to give us the information,” O’Callaghan said. “Because of this, we were able to speed up our investigation a little.”

Investigators said they are still looking into whether mental health issues may have played a role in the incident. O’Callaghan said no criminal charges will be filed by state police as a result of the investigation.

Maj. James High, chief of the Western New York Parks Police, said his officers will remain focused on recovery efforts.

“Our rapid water rescue team is out in the water in areas where they might be,” High said. “The basin is just below the falls, we can put the boat there and further down the river around Fort Niagara. Upriver to Power Vista, we search the water and shoreline. Our hearts go out to the family.

“A lot of the people working on this have kids at home, so it hits the mark.”