Police hunting for a man who is believed to have dumped two suitcases containing human remains at the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol have released an image of the suspect.
Avon and Somerset police said they received reports at 11.57pm on Wednesday of a man with a suitcase behaving suspiciously on the bridge.
When officers arrived 10 minutes later, the man had left, leaving the suitcase behind. A second suitcase was located a short time later. Both cases contained what are believed to be human remains.
Avon and Somerset police said their major crime investigation team had launched a manhunt and was working to identify the deceased. A postmortem examination will take place on Thursday.
At a press conference on Thursday afternoon on the eastern, Bristol, side of the bridge, the acting Bristol commander, Vicks Hayward-Melen, released an image of the suspect.
She described the suspect as wearing a black Adidas baseball cap, black jeans, a black jacket, white trainers, a gold earring and a black backpack.
Officers said the man arrived at the bridge by taxi and the vehicle and driver had been located and were helping with inquiries. The suspect is believed to have fled in the directions of Leigh Woods, at the western end of the bridge in north Somerset.
Hayward-Melen said: “This is a very disturbing incident and I fully recognise the concern it will be causing our communities. Our immediate priority is to locate the man who took the suitcases to the bridge, identify the deceased and inform their next of kin.”
Searches of the area were conducted by police officers on the ground, as well as the national police air service and HM Coastguard.
A cordon, police officers and several vehicles were blocking access to both ends of the iconic bridge, which has an average of 11,000 crossings a day.
Forensic vehicles were parked outside the Clifton Suspension Bridge visitor centre at the western end and staff in white hazmat suits could be seen carrying plastic bags. A white tent was also erected.
Residents living in Leigh Woods, who overlook the bridge, expressed concern. One woman, who asked not to be named, said her neighbour had told her to lock her door. “It’s so unusual,” she said. “I’m very scared.”
Andrea Malizia, 64, who has lived near the bridge for more than 20 years, said: “It was after the England game – I was watching a film around midnight when I remember first hearing a helicopter circling. Unfortunately we have lots of incidents related to the bridge anyways, it’s terrible, and there is so much surveillance on it, they have guards, so surely there will be footage of him out there.”
Graziella Licata, 51, who runs Bristol Ice Cream and serves from her van next to the bridge each day, said: “It’s scary – when I woke up this morning and heard the bridge had closed, I immediately thought this must be really bad, because they never ever close it. And then when we heard what happened we were just completely shocked.
“We hope the families of the victim or victims are informed quickly and they get some closure as soon as possible – that’s the main thing.”
Despite the ongoing investigation, the green space surrounding Clifton Suspension Bridge – designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel and opened in 1864 – was busy with sunbathers and school students on Thursday.
Avon and Somerset police said they would launch a bespoke page on their major incident public portal to enable members of the public to provide information that could assist with inquiries.
