Skyway Reunion

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Moving From Despair to Hope after Skyway Leap

Published in Shoreline Reporter, Volume 17, Number 26, June 28, 2001

By Eleanor L. Bailey

When Lynne Marie Carty read the June 12, 2001 newspaper story about a man who'd jumped from the Skyway Bridge, it triggered her characteristic urge to help. The article reported that Hanns Jones had miraculously survived a 200-foot leap triggered in large part by his life-long, and by then fruitless, search for his father. Carty began a nationwide search that located Jones' father within a week. Now, recuperating at the home of his sister in Missouri, Hanns Jones' life is on the mend.

As the driving force behind the Treasure Island-based "reunitepeople.com," Carty makes it her business to fulfill requests to locate missing people. Before now, even the US Army had tried with no success to find Hanns Jones' father. But Carty's determination and will to succeed is boundless. "I believe if you search extensively enough, it is truly possible to locate anyone on this earth," she said. "I just wish people would realize this so we could help them before they give up."

Carty visited Jones the day after the St. Pete Times article appeared, telling him of her commitment to find his dad. She heard of the further despair that drove Jones to his leap from the bridge and she learned that, even before hitting the water, his urge to live had returned. He knew he did not want his four children to grow up fatherless as he had.

His father had gone overseas during the Vietnam War and Jones had not seen or heard from him since. Carty contacted Jones' sister and mother in Missouri and "We all agreed that Hanns has a lot more living to do and the search would be well worth the effort."

Carty called upon an established and growing nationwide network of contacts she refers to as "her team." After a crash course in "military MOS #s" and extended contacts including a former military buddy and the Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association, she obtained a telephone number for the elder Jones.

Carty reports that Hanns' father was very receptive to the idea of a reunion. His half-sister, who is 17-months younger, confirms that a reunion will be arranged once her brother is fully recuperated.
"Lynne Marie was able to complete an important circle in my brother's life," She said. "He'd tried in vain for so long to locate his dad, it seems an absolute miracle that this lady was able find him within a week. We all will be eternally grateful."

The beauty of the massive, fixed span Skyway bridge is awe-inspiring to many, but it's majesty also often calls to those who feel despair at the turns their lives have taken. Hanns Jones miraculously survived his 200-foot leap from the Skyway bridge and now his life is on the mend thanks the caring support of others.