Family speaks after Horseheads woman’s death near Thousand Islands Bridge
The family of Alea Melendez, 30, of Horseheads, is urging people in crisis to seek help after her death near the Thousand Islands Bridge in Jefferson County.
By Jessica Hale, ClickNNY North Country Desk
The family of Alea Melendez, 30, of Horseheads, is speaking publicly after her death near the Thousand Islands Bridge in Jefferson County, urging people experiencing a mental health crisis to seek help and remember they are not a burden.
Jefferson County sheriff’s deputies responded to a report of an abandoned vehicle on the bridge at about 11:15 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23. The vehicle was registered to Melendez. Her body was found at about 11:30 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 25, in roughly 100 feet of water a short distance from Wellesley Island, according to reports citing the Sheriff’s Office.
The bridge was closed for several hours during the response and search. The recovery involved the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, New York State Police dive team, Thousand Islands Bridge Authority, U.S. Coast Guard, Chemung County Sheriff’s Office, State Park Police, fire departments in Alexandria and Orleans, TIERS and the Jefferson County Medical Examiner’s Office.
The Sheriff’s Office said surveillance footage showed no other people or vehicles near the car when it was left and that the incident was not considered criminal. The investigation remains ongoing.
Melendez’s family said she had experienced anxiety and depression for about two years. They said she had expressed suicidal thoughts during the week of the incident and that relatives tried to connect her with mental-health services. The family also said her mother contacted police shortly after Melendez began driving north and provided information about her vehicle.
The family has urged people who are struggling to contact someone for help rather than face a crisis alone. Anyone in the United States can call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, which is free and available around the clock.
In Jefferson and Lewis counties, the Mobile Crisis Hotline is available 24 hours a day at 315-782-2327 or 315-405-0696. Watertown Behavioral Health Urgent Care, at 650 State St. in Watertown, is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and can be reached at 315-755-1251. No appointment is required.
The Sheriff’s Office is continuing its investigation. People with information can call the office’s public tip line at 315-786-2700.
Reported by ClickNNY and reviewed by an editor before publication.
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