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Tributes have poured in from heartbroken loved ones of a mother-of-three after she jumped over Niagara Falls with her two young children.
Chaianti Means, 33, Roman Rossman, nine and five months old, Mecca Means stepped over the guardrail on Luna Island and fell to their deaths Monday evening, according to New York State Police. Their bodies have not yet been recovered.
Officials have said the dive was “deliberate” but added that the “circumstances remain under investigation.”
The woman’s friends have now taken to Facebook to pay tribute to the ‘much loved’ mother and warn that ‘you really never know what someone is going through’.
Means, who lived with her family in the greater Niagara Falls area, worked as a domestic violence counselor, according to her LinkedIn profile.
Chaianti Means, 33, Roman Rossman, 9, and five-month-old Mecca Means stepped over the guardrail on Luna Island on Monday night and fell to their deaths
Roman Rossman, nine and five-month-old Mecca Means
“I don’t even dare to write a post about her and share memories,” Mich Molina wrote.
‘I literally feel sick to my stomach and can’t even deal with the emotions I’m feeling. Just know that she and her children are deeply loved by me and my children.”
“I was speechless and crying and couldn’t sleep at all,” Kayshawna Morgane said in a Facebook post. ‘My heart is broken. Mental health is no joke.”
“You really never know what someone is going through…RIP,” Niesha Eukeya said.
“I’m sorry you didn’t feel like you had somewhere else to go for Chianti,” Shanti Kendyll added.
Amanda Lynn Marie Roberts-Conrad posted “my sweet, sweet friend,” followed by four broken heart emojis.
Means, along with her two children, are believed to have crossed the ‘safety guild rail’ on Luna Island at around 9pm on Monday evening (stock photo of the rail)
According to her LinkedIn profile, Means worked as a domestic violence counselor
Witnesses reported seeing people entering the falls around 9 p.m. Monday, State Trooper James O’Callaghan said in a news release.
It is believed that Means, along with her two children, crossed the ‘safety guild rail’ on Luna Island.
“The investigation has determined that this incident was deliberate in nature, although the circumstances remain under investigation,” O’Callaghan said.
New York State Police and Park Police conducted search and rescue efforts but did not find the family’s bodies.
Authorities are using unmanned aircraft and underwater units in the investigation. as reported by Syracuse.com.
Means’ friends say they’re ‘sorry you didn’t feel like you had anywhere else to turn’
Luna Island is a small island between the American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls, which together with the Horseshoe Falls is a popular tourist attraction.
Niagara Falls State Park is managed by the New York State Office of Parks and Recreation and is open to tourists 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
According to the recreation department, more than 8 million people visit the park every year.
Last year, an Illinois mother died, and her son survived, after jumping with him from a 100-foot cliff onto the frozen banks of the Niagara Falls gorge.