QUECHEE — First responders continue to search for the body of a person police say fell from the Quechee Gorge bridge in a “suspected suicide” on Monday afternoon.

The Hartford Police Department responded to a welfare check just before 2 p.m. Monday after an individual reported “possible suicidal intent from the mother of his child,” according to a news release from the department.

After arriving on scene, first responders observed the victim’s body in the water, but the flow of the Ottauquechee River swept it away before it could be recovered, Hartford Fire Chief Scott Cooney said at the scene Monday afternoon.

A swift-water rescue crew of firefighters from Hanover, Hartford and Lebanon spent about three hours searching the Ottauquechee River Monday afternoon, but were unable to locate the body. First responders crossed the river and searched from the riverbank on foot and the Hartford Police Department searched the area using a drone.

A swift water rescue team made up of Hartford, Hanover and Lebanon firefighters begin a search of the Ottauquechee River downstream of the Quechee Gorge Bridge for the body of a person who climbed outside the bridge’s safety fence and dropped into the gorge on Monday, April 13, 2026. “One side of the the bridge has been completed with protective rails in place, but we still, I’m not sure I can speak to the rationale, but somebody did make a choice today and that’s unfortunate,” said Hartford Fire Chief Scott Cooney. JAMES M. PATTERSON / Valley News

Firefighters cleared the scene at about 5 p.m. Monday.

The search remained ongoing as of midday Tuesday and the case was under active investigation, according to the news release. Police are withholding the victim’s name pending identification and notification of next of kin.

To reach the edge of the bridge on Monday, the victim had to circumvent a protective safety barricade.

A construction worker crosses staging under the deck of the Quechee Gorge Bridge after a person climbing outside the safety railing fell from the bridge in Quechee, Vt., on Monday, April 14, 2026. Hartford Police and fire departments, responded to an initial call reporting a suicide attempt, and first responders had visual confirmation of the victim of a fatality, but the body was carried downstream before recovery efforts could begin said Hartford Fire Chief Scott Cooney. JAMES M. PATTERSON / Valley News

The Vermont Agency of Transportation installed the 9-foot tall vertical steel barrier wall last summer as part of a larger bridge reconstruction project. VTrans chose the wall design, comprised of steel balusters set 8 inches apart and a curved top, specifically to address suicides at the gorge. It replaced a temporary chain link fence erected in 2018.

The gorge was the site of 14 suicides between 2007 and July 2018, the Valley News previously reported. The Hartford Police Department declined to provide updated suicide data for the gorge by deadline Tuesday.

A $23.9 million VTrans project to build the wall and rehabilitate the 285-foot-long Quechee Gorge bridge on Route 4 between White River Junction and Woodstock has been ongoing since 2023. The work includes repairing structural steel arches and framing under the bridge deck and building new railings and sidewalks.

Shea Harris, Health Care and Rehabilitation Services Police Liaison, hugs Rick Russell, of Quechee, Vt., who tried to intervene and prevent a suicide at the Quechee Gorge Bridge on Monday, April 13, 2026. “Talking to her was different than talking to an officer,” he said of Harris. “It was good to have her there,” said Russell, a photographer who was on the bridge covering progress on construction meant to improve the structure and safety of the bridge for the Vermont Standard at the time of the incident. JAMES M. PATTERSON / Valley News

Construction crews returned to the site for the spring last week, VTrans spokesperson Amy Tatko said Tuesday. The bridge is expected to be limited to one alternating lane of traffic until July and construction is scheduled to wrap up in August, according to VTrans.

Those experiencing a mental health crisis can call or text the National Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 for immediate support. In Hartford, individuals in crisis can call 802-295-9425 to speak with a dedicated mental health liaison and connect with support services.

Clare Shanahan can be reached at cshanahan@vnews.com or 603-727-3216.