The Cincinnati Police Department has confirmed that a second body was found in the Ohio River on Saturday in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio. The person was pulled out of the river near the Brent Spence Bridge. Cincinnati police and fire personnel responded to the scene, as did the Hamilton County Coroner's Office and Boone County Water Rescue.
Traffic on the bridge was temporarily halted as crews worked to remove the body from the river. Authorities have not identified the individual yet. It is also not known how the individual died or wound up in the river.
However, police confirmed with sister station WLWT that the death is being investigated as a homicide. WLWT reports that an additional body was also found on Friday night in the Ohio River near the Taylor-Southgate Bridge, which is approximately one mile away. It is not known at this time whether the deaths are related.
Neighbors walking around The Banks Saturday feel their own safety is at risk. As boats raced down the Ohio River Saturday, thoughts about Randy Heiser's daughter raced through his mind. "You know I can't afford to lose no more kids," Heiser said.
"So it's scary." His daughter was murdered eight years ago. His other children live here in Cincinnati.
One lives right by the shooting that happened Friday night. "It's really concerning to me because that's two deaths out of the water," Heiser said. "And then somebody was shot, obviously last night just underneath her apartment.
" That shooting , as WLWT reports, is added to the timeline of events near The Banks. Police say two bodies were found in the Ohio River less than a day apart. "It makes me feel oh, so sad because this is such a beautiful, beautiful city," Sherry Brehm said.
"It's just a shame that we've seen such an uptick of unfortunate violence." Brehm has lived here her whole life. She says times are changing.
"I kind of feel like the city itself has taken a bit of a bad rap," Brehm said, "It's got some very big city problems. And it's not a huge city." Neighbors are hoping the tides of changing times bring in some new safety precautions with them.
"As a female, it's pretty scary. I mean, you want to be safe when you're walking around and you want to feel like your environment is safe," Laiya Scheffer. "So it's pretty, pretty frightening.
" CPD says there has actually been a decline in violent crime across the city this summer. Police don't know if the two deaths are connected. Sister station WLWT is working to learn more about both cases.
Check back for possible updates..
