PORT ANGELES — Police are seeking witnesses who can shed some light on what occurred in the hours leading up to the death of 19-year-old Joshua Glenn Reynolds, who jumped from the Eighth Street Valley Creek Bridge on Sunday, Detective Sgt. Steve Coyle said Tuesday.
“We have several people we still need to talk to,” Coyle said.
“Those people know who they are, and I think they know we want to talk to them.
“But we are sensitive to the impact this has on people who knew him.
“But at this point, we really aren’t sure what occurred earlier that night.”
Coyle said that Reynolds was at an acquaintance’s home immediately before going to the bridge, but what he was doing at the home and where he had been before remained unclear on Tuesday.
Services for Mr. Reynolds have been set for 2 p.m. Thursday at Independent Bible Church in Port Angeles, his brother Jesse Reynolds said.
Mr. Reynolds had attended Port Angeles High School and Olympic Christian School and had recently been working doing odd jobs around town, Jesse Reynolds said.
Giving, kind man
His family said Mr. Reynolds was a giving and kind man who would do anything for a friend.
“Helping people was one of his biggest passions,” Jesse Reynolds said, speaking for his family.
“He would give without regard for himself.
“If someone asked him for money, he would give them every penny.
“Sometimes he would buy food for himself, and then he’d end up giving it all away to family and friends.
“Helping out folks was really important to him.”
Mr. Reynolds was also proud of showing his poodle, Judy, with 4-H, when he was a middle school student, Jesse Reynolds said.
“He really cared for animals and really enjoyed doing that,” Jesse Reynolds said.
An acquaintance of Mr. Reynolds called police at 3:52 a.m. Sunday morning to say he was suicidal.
Three police units arrived at the bridge, and officers attempted to talk to Mr. Reynolds, Deputy Police Chief Brian Smith said.
“At that point they really weren’t even sure if he was the person they had been called about,” Smith said.
Mr. Reynolds ran toward the side of the bridge from officers who were standing in the middle of the street.
Officers fired a Taser stun gun at Mr. Reynolds, but missed hitting him, Smith said.
He vaulted over the side of the bridge, falling 98 feet.
Officers had been on scene less than 14 seconds, Smith said.
One officer stayed at the top of the bridge, another began climbing down the embankment and the rest of the officers drove down to Valley Creek Street, Smith said.
They found Mr. Reynolds still alive, but he was pronounced dead at Olympic Medical Center after he was taken there in an ambulance.
Mr. Reynolds was on the west end of the bridge — the easternmost of two twin concrete bridges that re-opened in February — when police began speaking to him, Smith said.
No statistics were available on how many people had jumped off the old trestle bridges that the $24 million spans replaced.
The older bridges had portions of tall fences, but shorter ones, about 4-feet high, were installed on the new bridges.
Port Angeles Director of Public Works Glenn Cutler said that taller fences were considered during the design process.
“We did look at that, but it was too expensive to do,” he said.
“So we went with what the minimum requirements for the Washington Department of Transportation were.”
He said he wasn’t sure how much the current railing cost or how much it would have cost to install taller ones.
A full obituary about Mr. Reynolds can be found on Page A8.
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladailynews.com.
