Kansas man who fell from bridge found the next day; death ruled accidental

The death of a 78-year-old Abilene man who fell off a bridge Monday night and was found Tuesday morning has been ruled accidental, according to the Saline County Sheriff’s Office.

A passerby first spotted Troy Leatherman on the bridge around 6:30 p.m. Monday and then noticed he was gone when they looked in the rearview mirror, Lt. Jeremiah Hayes said, adding it’s about a 30-40 foot drop into the Smoky Hill River below.

The passerby stopped, got out and spotted the man floating face down and unresponsive. First responders weren’t able to find the man and called off the search after it got dark. They came back Tuesday morning.

Leatherman was found by first responders around 8 a.m. Tuesday about a few hundred yards from the bridge. Hayes said the man’s truck was parked nearby. He said some people fish from the bridge, but Leatherman didn’t appear to be fishing.