On a summer Friday evening, two men who had paid for ordinary tickets to Seattle's Space Needle slipped away from the crowd of visitors and did something that no sightseer intends: they climbed past the glass barrier at the edge of the observation deck and leapt into open air. The city's landmarks have long drawn people who want to see it from above, and this episode belongs to that older human pull toward height and risk, now carried out with parachutes and helmets. As of the latest reports, the men remain unnamed and unlocated, and the tower's operators have yet to explain how the moment unf
Seattle Police Search for Two BASE Jumpers Who Parachuted Off the Space Needle
They bought tickets, then came out of the restroom wearing helmets
Mark
Walk me through what police say actually happened.
Mimi
Two men bought tickets, went in around 8:50 Friday night, and reached the top level. Cameras caught them going into a restroom and coming out with helmets on. Then they ran to the glass wall, climbed over, and jumped.
Mark
So they didn't sneak in.
Mimi
No. They paid like everyone else, which is part of why this is a security story. The planning happened in plain sight.
Luke
Worth saying that the account comes from police, built from camera footage. We haven't heard from the men or from the Space Needle.
Mark
And the charge is trespassing?
Mimi
That's what the police report says they face. It's a modest charge for something that dramatic.
Luke
Though they face it, not necessarily have been charged. Nobody has been found, so nothing has been tested.
Mark
Do we know where they landed?
Mimi
No. Security wasn't sure, and police couldn't locate them.
Luke
That's the biggest gap. We don't know if the parachutes opened as planned or whether anyone was hurt. The reporting doesn't say.
Mark
What should we watch for?
Mimi
Identification, any arrests, and whether the Space Needle changes how it handles that open-sky deck.
O Pulso
- Two men bought tickets, changed into helmets in a restroom, and vanished over the glass wall at around 8:50 p.m. on Friday.
- Security cameras caught the sequence on the top level, but the footage has not yet produced names or faces that police can act on.
- Police are searching for two white men in their late 20s while Space Needle staff admit they do not know where the jumpers came down.
- The jumpers face trespassing charges, and the Space Needle has not yet said whether it will tighten screening or reinforce its open-sky deck.
On a summer Friday evening, two men who had paid for ordinary tickets to Seattle's Space Needle slipped away from the crowd of visitors and did something that no sightseer intends: they climbed past the glass barrier at the edge of the observation deck and leapt into open air. The city's landmarks have long drawn people who want to see it from above, and this episode belongs to that older human pull toward height and risk, now carried out with parachutes and helmets. As of the latest reports, the men remain unnamed and unlocated, and the tower's operators have yet to explain how the moment unfolded or what they will change.
On Friday evening, around 8:50 p.m., two men bought tickets to the Space Needle and went up like any other visitors. Within minutes, Seattle police say, they had climbed the glass wall at the top of the 605-foot tower and jumped.
Security cameras followed them to the topmost level. They slipped into a restroom and came out in helmets, then ran to the barrier at the edge of the round deck, climbed over, and dropped off the side into the open sky that surrounds the observation windows.
What followed is murky. Space Needle staff were not sure where the men landed, and police could not find them. Authorities have described them only as white men in their late 20s, and no names have been released.
The men face trespassing charges, according to a report from Public Affairs Officer Brian Pritchard, and nothing else has been announced. The act is BASE jumping, a sport that takes its name from buildings, antennas, spans, and Earth, and the Space Needle belongs to the first of those. The attraction did not respond to requests for comment on Saturday, so its account of the event is still unwritten.
For now the questions are simple: who the men are, whether they will be found, and whether the tower will change how it checks visitors and guards its open deck.
On Friday evening, at about 8:50 p.m., two men bought tickets to the Space Needle and went up like any other visitors. Within a short time, according to the Seattle Police Department, they had climbed over the glass wall at the top of the 605-foot tower and jumped.
Police say security cameras picked them up on the topmost level. The two went into a restroom and came out wearing helmets. They then ran to the glass barrier at the edge of the round observation deck, climbed over it, and went off the side. The deck is ringed by tall glass windows that are open to the sky above.
What happened next is unclear. Security staff at the Space Needle were not sure where the men landed, and police were unable to find them. The pair has not been identified. Authorities have described them only as white men in their late 20s.
The men face trespassing charges, according to a report provided by Public Affairs Officer Brian Pritchard. No other charges were mentioned in the report.
The act is known as BASE jumping, an extreme sport in which people leap from fixed objects and deploy a parachute. The name stands for the kinds of platforms jumpers use: buildings, antennas, spans such as bridges, and Earth, meaning cliffs and other natural features. The Space Needle, one of Seattle's best-known landmarks, falls into the first category.
The Space Needle did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment on Saturday, so the attraction's account of the incident, and any response to it, has not yet been made public.
For now the open questions are simple ones: who the men are, whether police find them, and whether the Space Needle changes anything about how it screens visitors or secures the glass barrier at its open-sky deck.
Citações Notáveis
The jumpers face trespassing charges, according to a report provided by police.— Public Affairs Officer Brian Pritchard, Seattle Police Department (report)
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