Mother and 2 children dead after going over Niagara Falls

NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. — A mother and two young children have died after New York State Police say they went over a guardrail and into the falls at Niagara Falls State Park.

State Police said Wednesday that officers responded to an incident that happened on Luna Island around 9 p.m. Monday, just to the side of Goat Island where the popular attraction Cave of the Winds is located.

Chaianti Means, 33, and her two children — 9-year-old Roman Rossman and 5-month-old Mecca Means — crossed over the safety railing and went over the falls, police said. Authorities are still investigating the circumstances of how exactly it happened, but say that this was intentional and that the family did not just “stumble in.”

But police also say they may never know more than what they do right now.

“Now what were the actual circumstances of how that went down? That is the part that we may know, but the fact of the matter is we don’t believe there are any other parties involved,” New York State Trooper James O’Callaghan said. “We are just talking about those three victims, those three individuals.”

No arrests have been made, and at this time, this is not a criminal investigation. Police say the family has been cooperative throughout this process, and now they are focusing on trying to get closure for them.

That’s why there are still rescue teams in those waters, trying to continue this search for the family. But 48 hours in, they still haven’t had any luck.

NYSP Unmanned Aircraft Systems, Aviation, Underwater Recovery Unit, New York State Park Police and Niagara Falls Police Department are assisting in the investigation.