World's Leading Destination for Suicide

Dec. 1 -- Spanning the turbulent entrance to the San Francisco Bay, the Golden Gate Bridge is one of the rare manmade structures that enhances the natural splendor of its surroundings.

Millions visit every year to admire the beauty. But some — and it's more than most people realize — arrive to die. The bridge is said to be the world's leading destination for suicide.

Since it opened on May 28, 1937, more than 1,200 people have jumped from the bridge to their deaths.

The first suicide came when the bridge was just three months old. World War I veteran Harold Wobber turned to his companion, and said 'This is where I get off.' Then he jumped.

Police officially stopped counting the suicides when their number reached 997 in the mid-1990s, fearing there would be a competition to be the 1,000th. Newspapers and television stopped reporting the suicides in an effort to discourage copy cats.

But Richard Seiden, a psychologist and a leading expert on suicide, says the number of suicides did not go down, even though public awareness of the problem did.

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Seiden says the bridge makes suicide far too easy.

"It doesn't require any agility at all just to vault over the side. You don't need a gun permit. You don't need a prescription from a doctor. You just need to get here and just walk out on the bridge and do it," he says.

There's a suicide at the bridge every two weeks, on average, says the coroner for Marin County, just across from San Francisco. But it could be more, since many bodies are washed out to sea by the strong tide and never found.

Kary Witt, the bridge manager, says there is an emphasis on patrols to stop suicides. There are bicycles, foot patrols and cameras to try to head off potential suicides. There are also 13 emergency phones installed along the walkway that can be connected directly to a suicide counselor.

"We know that people come to the bridge with the intent of jumping off, and people do," Witt says. "But it isn't a majority of people. It's a tiny, tiny minority of people."