Women jump into Niagara Falls with 2 young sons in 'deliberate action': police

A woman and her two young children died after they accidentally jumped over a safety rail at Niagara Falls on Monday, according to New York State Police.

The apparent suicide occurred around 09:00 when Chianti Means, 33, took her 9-year-old and 5-month-old child and jumped over the railroad tracks at Luna Island before entering the Niagara River. Luna Island is a small island between American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls, as well as Horseshoe Falls, which form a popular tourist draw. This island is connected to Goat Island.

Law enforcement responded to the scene and decided to let everyone go.

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“The investigation determined that this incident was intentional, although the circumstances are still under investigation,” New York State Police said in a statement.

Authorities are using drones and submersibles to search for the three missing people.

Rescuers have not been able to find any bodies as of Thursday, New York State Police told Fox News Digital.

Means and her children – 9-year-old Roman Rossman and baby Mecca Means – were residents of Niagara Falls, according to the New York Post.

New York State Sheriff James O'Callaghan said no other people were involved and it may have been an accident.

“There are a lot of security measures in state parks. So it's not something they just stumbled upon,” O'Callaghan said at a press conference on Wednesday. “This area is small at the edge of the waterfall and we believe that is where they entered at that time..”

Luna Island is open 24 hours a day and it was dark when the incident happened. Niagara Falls is a group of three waterfalls that straddles the border between Canada and New York.

Tourists visit the American Falls in Niagara Falls, NY (AP Photo/David Duprey, File)

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“Now what were the real circumstances of how that went down? That's the part we may know or we may be able to solve, or we may never know. But the truth is, we don't believe there are any other parties involved when we talk about those three victims.”

O'Callaghan said what witnesses told police was “shocking,” although he could not share what they said.

“Indeed, they left that night and no one came back. But like I said, because of the information we have, we know it was a deliberate act. But the reason why it is difficult to answer,” he said.

O'Callaghan said the family of those who died were very cooperative, which made the police speed up their investigation. Means was the mother of both children and they had different fathers.

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Tourists visit the American Falls in Niagara Falls. (Adam Gray/Getty Images)

Police have also spoken with Means. Means described himself as a domestic violence counselor on his LinkedIn profile.

“We see no signs of [mental health issues] I think that would meet the level of that kind of extreme stress or mental instability,” O'Callaghan said.

This story is about suicide. If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255).