Ridgeland man who jumped from Hilton Head bridge found with minor injuries, charged

A 47-year-old Ridgeland man who jumped from one of the eastbound bridges to Hilton Head Island around 12 p.m. today was found in a nearby wooded area and charged with violating a Beaufort County ordinance that prohibits jumping and diving from bridges and piers, according to the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.

Kenneth Nusser was treated by EMS for minor injuries and was released into the custody of deputies, according to a Sheriff’s Office news release. He was found by deputies walking in a wooded area near the water after he jumped off the bridge and swam ashore to C.C. Haigh Landing.

“It appears that he was not trying to commit suicide,” Capt. Bob Bromage of the Sheriff’s Office said on Wednesday.

Deputies and personnel from the Bluffton Township Fire District responded to the scene. The fire district had a rescue boat in the water along with boats from the S.C. Department of Natural Resources and Marine Rescue, according to Capt. Randy Hunter of the fire district.

A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter was called to the scene but was sent away when Nusser had been found alive.

Hunter said that while an estimate of how much it costs the county to respond such calls would take time to compile, the real concern for first responders was tying up resources at the scene unnecessarily.

Nusser was taken to the Beaufort County Detention Center.

This story was originally published July 12, 2017 at 12:44 PM with the headline "Ridgeland man who jumped from Hilton Head bridge found with minor injuries, charged."