Kids Walked Over Niagara Falls Before Mom, Police Say: ‘This Was On Purpose’

New York State Police say they are continuing to search for the bodies of a mother and her two children who went over Niagara Falls Monday night.

The victims, identified as 33-year-old Chaianti Means, her 9-year-old son Roman Rossman and her 5-month-old daughter Mekka Means, are presumed dead. Niagara Gazette reports investigators are beginning to shed some light on what they know, calling the incident “intentional in nature.”

“We believe this is deliberate, but the circumstances of what actually happened are under investigation. They definitely went there that night and none of them returned. Based on information, we do know that it was a intentional act, but the reason for it is a tougher response,” said Trooper James O’Callaghan, a state police public information officer. “The circumstances of how it went down, that’s the part we may or may not know. I won’t go into what the witnesses saw because it’s still an active case, but what they told us is alarming.”

O’Callaghan said the incident was captured on video by surveillance cameras in the state park and near the brink of the falls. The 9-year-old boy went into the water first and went over a 3-by-4-foot safety railing around 1 p.m. 21 Monday, followed by the little girl; then their mother jumped in.

The boy went over the waterfall first, he said.

When asked if Means was chasing her children, O’Callaghan said: “No, we think it was on purpose.”

Investigators are working to determine whether mental health issues may have played a role, according to the Gazette. The fathers of both children have been “very cooperative,” O’Callaghan added.

Means, who lived in Niagara Falls with his family, reportedly worked as a domestic violence counselor in Western New York.

The investigation and the search for the bodies both continue. Searchers, including park police marine units and drones, have focused on the Niagara River Gorge and shoreline.

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