Authorities in Helena-West Helena say an abandoned vehicle was found early Tuesday on the U.S. 49 Mississippi River bridge, leading investigators to believe a second person may have jumped off the structure within the past week.
A caller reported finding the vehicle around 1:30 a.m., Helena-West Helena Police Chief Virgil Green said in a news release. No one was found inside or nearby, and it is "very possible" the owner may have jumped from the bridge, he said.
The vehicle's owner has been identified as a woman from Helena-West Helena, though the person's name is not being released at this point in the investigation, Green said. He said the woman's name would likely be released later in the day pending notification to next of kin.
Green said rescue crews from the Helena-West Helena Fire Department and Arkansas Coast Guard were unable to locate anyone during an initial search Tuesday morning. They were set to resume their search later in the day.
Helena-West Helena police on Tuesday also confirmed the identity of a Conway woman who jumped off the bridge Friday morning after gambling at Isle of Capri Casino in Lula, Miss.
Green said Audie Dreher, 76, left the casino around 6 a.m. Friday and drove onto the Mississippi River bridge, where she stopped halfway across, turned on her hazard lights and jumped from the structure.
Crews have been unable to find Dreher's body in the Mississippi River, which had swollen over the weekend because of recent heavy rain.
The river level in Helena-West Helena had fallen from 20.1 feet Monday to 19.95 feet as of 10 a.m. Tuesday, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Flood stage is 44 feet.
Green said aircraft may be sent to perform an aerial search along the river as investigators continue to scour the area for Dreher's remains and the second woman suspected of jumping off the bridge.
Dreher's family members told police that they were unsure why the Conway woman would have jumped from the bridge.
Read Wednesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.