Police Arrest Fenton Man Who Jumped Off Meramec Bridge to Escape Traffic Stop

June 27 Update
A man who fled police and jumped into the Meramec river has been arrested. After hours of being missing and having police and emergency responders search throughout the area where he jumped, the Missouri Highway Patrol (MSHP) has Jeff Henning in custody.

MSHP said Jeff Henning jumped into the Meramec River after police tried to stop him for speeding near Highway 21 North and Highway 141 around 1:30 a.m., on Wednesday.

Henning stopped on a bridge over the Meramec, according to police, then moved to the passenger side of the vehicle before exiting and jumping.

No motive has been revealed as to why he would react in such a manner during a traffic stop. 

Original Pos
Search teams, Missouri State Highway Patrol Troopers, St. Louis County police and Mehlville Fire and Rescue have been looking for a man last seen jumping off a bridge into the Meramec River, allegedly to avoid a police traffic stop.

The family of a missing man was pleading with him to call home Wednesday morning, according to a KTVI report, which said Missouri State Highway Patrol Troopers spent the morning looking for Jeff Henning. The Missouri State Highway Patrol said they need to find the man before they can announce a positive identification.

He has since contacted his father, according to the St. Louis Post Dispatch.

A trooper with the Missouri Highway Patrol spotted a car speeding on Highway 141 and tried to stop it at about 1:30 a.m., according to Lt. Robert Wolf of the Highway Patrol. He said he does not know why the man ran away from the traffic stop and jumped into the river. 

Wolf told the Riverfront Times, as soon as the car parked, the man jumped out without even opening a door. "The driver slid across to the passenger seat and jumped through the window and into the Meramec River."

The patrol called in St. Louis County for reinforcement just before 1:45 a.m. At that time, Officers shut down the bridge. County police and Mehlville Fire and Rescue brought in boats boats and searched the Meramec River before and after a storm hit the area around 5:30 a.m. Metro air support helicopters searched the water using infrared cameras as well, according to KTVI.

He was located by authorities around 1 p.m., Leader Publications reports.