The Flagler Beach Police Department identified the woman who jumped from the Flagler Beach bridge Wednesday afternoon and survived as Mandy Michelle Mincey, a 47-year-old woman with no reported home. She was also known as Mandy Monroe. Earlier that day she had been at Finn’s bar, had ordered two shots of Jack Daniels and sweet tea, never touched the drinks, then walked out, leaving her purse and heading for the bridge.
It was the fifth time in 10 years that men or women attempted to end their life at the bridge. Two died.
Little is known about Mincey, who was treated at Halifax hospital and kept there under a Baker Act. She had lived in Michigan previously, among other locations, and had lived on Rippling Brook Drive in Palm Coast’s R Section. She had had some financial difficulties a few years ago. An attempt to reach people she lived with at her former home was not successful.
Her act of desperation on Wednesday was linked to difficulties she was having with her son, Flagler Beach Police Chief Matt Doughney said, following an investigation by Flagler Beach police. The bartender at Finn’s was among the last people to see her as she ran out the establishment and past the pharmacy, on her way to the bridge.
A 67-year-old Ormond Beach man was driving east on the bridge just past 1 p.m. when he saw a broken-down truck. just past the truck, he saw Mincey squatting down, taking off her clothes. The man kept driving, but when he glanced back, Mincey had disappeared.
A 33-year-old Ormond Beach resident was fishing along the Intracoastal at the foot of the bridge. He was about to cast his line when he saw Mincey climb over the railing and leap, hitting the water on her back. At first he thought she was jumping “for fun,” the incident report states. “Once she surfaced, he told her to swim towards him, which she began to. The current then started taking her southbound and he threw her a life preserver to float on. She reached for it and laid on top of it.”
Another witness who had heard a scream just before Mincey leaped said he asked her if he should call 911, and she said no. Yet another witness went directly to the nearby police station and informed authorities. Rescuers from the Flagler Beach Fire Department and Flagler County Fire Rescue were soon at the scene, pulling Mincey out of the water and providing medical aid. She had left all her clothes at the top of the bridge. (She was not connected to the broken down vehicle.)
“The sense of urgency yesterday by our 1st Responders in Flagler Beach significantly impacted the outcome of this incident and prevented this from becoming a bigger tragedy,” Doughney was quoted as saying in a release his agency issued on Thursday.
Flagler Beach Fire Chief Bobby Pace said the rescue took 41 minutes from the time of the first call to the time Mincey was air-lifted by Flagler County FireFlight, the emergency helicopter, to Halifax hospital. “The first or ‘Golden Hour’ of care is vitally important in trauma cases like this one,” Pace said.
Flagler County’s suicide rate continues to be among the most elevated in the state, ranking 8th highest among Florida’s 67 counties in 2021, the last year for which the state Health Department has figures. The county experienced 25 suicides that year, for a rate of 22.4 per 100,000 residents. The state average is 14, close to the national rate. But Flagler County’s rate is closer to that of Colorado, a state with the sixth highest suicide rate in the country.
“Imagine the mindset it takes to jump off a bridge,” Doughney said in the release. “Yesterday’s incident should serve as an example that life is very fragile and that there are those members of our community that truly need mental health assistance. If you’re reading this news release and you’re in distress, suicide is not the answer. The real answer is to just reach out to someone, anyone, that will listen and help. If you
don’t know who to call, please call the new Nationwide suicide hotline number, 988, or call 911. Making the call is the start, and yes there truly are people who care.”
The following resources are available for individuals in crisis:
In Flagler: The Crisis Triage and Treatment Unit (CTTU) is a crisis assessment and referral service for Flagler County residents experiencing behavioral health crisis. It is located at 301 Justice Lane in the Brown & Brown Outpatient building at the Vince Carter Sanctuary in Bunnell. This program is limited to individuals escorted to the program by law enforcement between the hours of noon and midnight daily. Law enforcement is able to transport individuals to SMA to assess and determine the appropriate clinical disposition. When required and appropriate, SMA then transports the individual to a receiving facility in Volusia County.
In Daytona Beach: Stewart-Marchman Act Corporation Crisis Center
1220 Willis Avenue
Daytona Beach, FL 32114
Crisis Line: (800) 539 – 4228
Available 24 hours.
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, 800/273-8255 (TALK), or use the online Lifeline Crisis Chat, both available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Veterans Crisis Line: 1-800-273-8255.
People 60 and older can call the Institute on Aging’s 24-hour, toll-free Friendship Line at 800-971-0016. IOA also makes ongoing outreach calls to lonely older adults.
If you are concerned for someone else, read about warning signs here. For additional resources, see the Speaking of Suicide website.
Me says
Very very sad.
Pat Stote says
God bless her and hopefully she gets the help that she needs.
Deirdre says
When is Flagler County going to have a place for homeless people to have shelter and appropriate mental healthcare? Stewart Marchman is not enough.
It’s no surprise we have one of the highest suicide rates in Florida, we just don’t have the necessary resources for people that need them. That should be a priority in our community.
TR says
Please give us the stats that you say Flagler County has the highest suicide rate in the state.
FlaglerLive says
That was the case in 2017. It hasn’t been since.
TR says
Thanks. So for the past 6 years Flagler County has been improving on preventing suicides. That’s great, but it still isn’t perfect. At least we are heading in the right direction, but still have a lot of work to be done.
If anyone out there is thinking about killing themselves. Please ask for some help to rid the demons that are making you think this way. There is no shame in asking for help. Your friends and family will still love you and be there for you.
Richard Smoker says
Isn’t perfect? Is any place?
Deirdre says
No one said Flagler County has the highest suicide rate anymore in the state of Florida in this article, but it continues to be among the highest.
This is according to Florida health charts in 2021, the rates are not available yet for 2023.
Age-adjusted Deaths From Suicide, Rate Per 100,000 Population, Single Year
Flagler county 22.4
Florida state 13.8
flhealthcharts.gov
Kathleen L. Cossar says
Include Putnam county along with those listed. Too many homeless and drug addicts.
BigPapa says
You can head on over to San Francisco and get all of the help you need….
Lorie says
How does what you suggest help a person going through a crisis here in Flagler County? Must everything be political? What happened to empathy and common decency?
BigPapa says
My comment was directed at Deirdre, not at the person who jumped off the bridge.
Larry says
Mental Healthcare has been underfunded since Ronald Reagan defended mental Healthcare and shut down hospital beds. It’s only gotten worse since then. Don’t expect it to get any better as long as these politician puppets are being controlled by their corporate owners. They really don’t care about us. They care about getting re-elected, staying in power and money.
Chris Marlborough says
That is as true as the demowits saying that the border is secure or trump is guilty of what he is accused of but Biden did not do anything wrong but it’s a waste to say it to an indoctrinated fool
Laurel says
Chris: Oh, that pesky evidence is hard to get around, isn’t it?
Edith Campins says
Wait, I thought trump had fixed the border problem. He didn’t do anything to fix it. Nothing. Biden inherited the problem from trump because it certainly wasn’t something that just happened in the last 3 years. As for trump being guilty…well that is an awful lt of lawsuits and indictments. And there is no question that he endagered national security by storing secret government document in a bathroom, is there? And, lastly, there are many Republicans going around saying they have no proof of Biden wrongdoing. Of course you won;t have seen them because they are not saying it on FAUX. Not is it the Democrats who appointed all thos Repuvlican Supreme Court judges that turn out to be on the take.
Tired of it says
Biden indictments. 0
trump indictments 91
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/trump-charges-jan-6-classified-documents/
JimboXYZ says
Sooner or later you have to discuss the pink elephant in the room, “Biden Prosperity” that we all can’t get enough of over the last 3 years of inflation & unaffordability. It’s not that suicide didn’t happen before Biden, but economic hardship can only contribute to stress of everyday life. And Biden wants 4 more years to finish the job ? I wonder how many out there are trying to ride out until January 2025 when a new POTUS would give anyone hope for relief from the inflation. Biden thinks his anti-inflation legislation works. Things like raising the interest rate which only creates more financial hardship for just home ownership. Hate to sound like a broken record & harp on Biden, but that’s the reality of America today, the poorest are only a premium or a subsidy payment to those already aligned to do well (Bidencare for example). The poor exist for them to get paid a Government subsidy.
James says
No Jimbo, sooner or later you have to confront the 100,000 ton gorilla… the one nobody wants to admit to… it’s name? It’s a five letter word that starts with “d” and ends with “s.”
I’m so very sorry, it’s going to offend many, and perhaps it’s a gross over simplification… but it’s the truth in my opinion.
Laurel says
Jimbo: Congratulations! You have managed to negatively inject Biden into nearly every topic presented! I’m waiting for the article about mosquitos and malaria, just so you can tell us it’s Biden’s science.
JimboXYZ says
Negatively, I’m giving the Biden all the credit he deserves. Could there possibly be any correlation that the billions Biden has released to Iran just might have been used to fund the attack on Israel ? So here we see people jumping from interstate overpasses & bridges increase under the Biden inflation. Nobody ever jumped off an overpass or bridge because they had it so good ? Financial hardship created by the Biden policies is a direct result of more crimes (illegal drugs) & suicides (even attempts). The source of drugs, the border crisis.
Tired of it says
“”The Biden administration has issued a waiver to allow the transfer of $6bn in frozen Iranian funds from South Korea to Qatar as part of a deal to free five Americans detained in Iran.
The waiver was a necessary step towards advancing a previously announced deal, which also involves the freeing of five Iranian citizens imprisoned in the US, mostly for sanctions-busting offenses.
The waiver allowing international banks to transfer the Iranian funds was signed by the secretary of state, Antony Blinken, on Friday, and Congress was informed on Monday.
Under the deal, the money, frozen revenues from past Iranian oil sales, will be sent to Qatar’s central bank, from where it can be disbursed for the purchase of humanitarian goods for Iran.”
So inflation , high prices, lack of funding for mental health programs are all Biden’s fault? Really, he managed all of that in three years? Is there any chance that trump’s failed economic policies are the root cause? You know his tariff fiasco that almost wiped out American farmers, his tax cut for the rich that added billions to the national debt, his fsilure to come up with a better plan to replace Obamacare, his failure to balance the budget, the millions he spent golfing….none of that registerd with you?
Laurel says
Okay Jimbo, I know comments here about jumping off a bridge went off the tracks, but I’m guilty too. Now, I think it would be great if you, Dennis R., Jake and Dude, all folks with differing viewpoints, would watch the following show: It’s Frontline, “America’s Great Divide, The Robert Reich Interview.” You can find it on YouTube, and he explains how we ARE being duped, on both sides, how we actually want the same things, and how this divide serves a very small percentage of the wealthiest people. Do not assume you know how the interview goes.
I’m also half way through “Real Stories, The American Middle Class Crisis, with Noam Chomsky.” This can also be found on YouTube, and he explains how we got to where we are now. Again, do not assume you know how it will go, you may be surprised.
James says
@Jimbo: Jimbo, one could just as easily “spin” the price of oil into a reason for the attack on Israel.
Israel is not at a loss for enemies in the region. Until there’s real proof, I’d drop it.
As for your border comment as it pertains to drugs, it is only but one part of the problem … and securing it, only one part of any solution (if there is any).
Just as teaching ones children to say NO to drugs.
I’m sure you remember Nancy Reagan and her “Just Say No” anti-drug initiative? Well, while over the years my opinion of Ronald Reagan might have diminished somewhat, I now think Nancy was spot on (a perspective that comes with age, I suppose).
But of course it’s not as easy as “just” saying no… if only for the fact that it IS the hardest word to say to anyone.
Just look at the Republicans on our own city council, they can’t say NO to anything… but it can work, and it could indeed be part of a solution.
Just my opinion.
Btw, I feel I should clarify my previous comment. Although drugs apparently aren’t involved in this tragic case, they are in far too many. Legal or not, they’re still the 100,000 ton gorilla in the room… hungry as ever.
Someone says
You think financial hardship is the number 1 cause of suicide? What? So are you suggesting another stimulus package? What are your thoughts on how to fix suicidal intent?
The rig says
Amen
Someone says
I understand that the POTUS and his policies has a lot of weight when it comes to the economy. However, this is the result of the lack of ethics from the previous administration. There has to be something done to get out of the hole. On another note, I wonder what the governor is doing about Florida’s economy since right now this is a state issue. What are our county commissioners doing? What are our local politicians doing?
Atwp says
Reagan was a Republican. Desantis is a Republican.
TR says
So what’s your point? Obama was a Democrat, Biden is a Democrat.
Chris Marlborough says
How bout them bidenomecs