Key West The Newspaper

The body of a Pembroke Pines, Florida man was pulled from the water under the Whale Harbor Bridge yesterday morning.

It appears 48 year old Christopher Rishell committed suicide by jumping from the bridge. His car, a 2012 Mazda, was found parked on the bridge just before 3 a.m. It was running, its hazard lights were on and it was unoccupied. Rishell’s cell phone was on the top of the car, his wallet was inside and a pack of cigarettes were found on the bridge railing on the bay side.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission responded to assist with a water search and located the body in the water under the bridge. The body was weighed down by two 25 pound dumbbells; it appears Rishell tied the weights to his right arm in order to facilitate the suicide. There were no initial indications of foul play, according to Major Crimes detectives assigned to investigate. The Medical Examiner’s Office will be conducting an autopsy to determine Rishell’s official cause of death.