Off-Duty Police Officer Dressed As Mrs Claus Sees Woman Leaning Over Bridge, Pulls Over to Save Her Life

Courtesy of Fredericksburg Police Department

An off-duty Virginia police officer happened to be dressed as Mrs. Claus while driving home one night this December when she saw a 25-year-old woman leaning over a bridge rail. Still in costume, but no less committed to her community, the officer pulled over and took action to save a life.

It was just after 8 p.m. on Dec. 13, and Lieutenant Tabatha Merrell, of Fredericksburg Sheriff’s Office, was departing Fredericksburg’s Public Safety Santa Run when she first spotted the young female on the Falmouth Bridge, leaning over the barrier and looking down into the river.

Something didn’t feel right to Merrell. So she turned her car around to take a second look, making two U-turns before ending up back at the same spot as the young woman, Fredericksburg Law Enforcement stated in a news release. By then, the young woman already had her body hanging precariously over the barrier.

Footage from Officer Lynch's body camera on the night of Dec. 13, 2022. Courtesy of Fredericksburg Police Department

(Courtesy of Fredericksburg Police Department)

Merrell called for uniformed backup before proceeding to intervene, still donning her Mrs. Claus getup—dress, boots, glasses, wig, and all. She used her crisis intervention skills to connect with the woman until Patrol Sergeant Aimee Lynch, also driving returning home from the Santa Run, pulled over to help.

Thanks to the officers’ teamwork, the woman was brought down from the ledge and comforted, before being escorted to a nearby hospital for mental health support. Fredericksburg Police Department later shared Lynch’s body camera footage on Facebook.

“I knew it was an emergency, it wasn’t someone looking over the water,” Merrell told WTVR. “Call it fate. Call it right place, right time, wrong attire, but there is a reason I went that route.”

Mrs. Claus next to Santa and a pair of elves during Fredericksburg’s Public Safety Santa Run. Courtesy of Fredericksburg Police Department

Lynch said, “For me, knowing we were able to help this female and give her comfort and reassuring voices, that we were there to help her and keep her safe. It’s everything.”

Police Chief Brian Layton credits “divine intervention or fate” to the fact that Merrell and Lynch drove the same route home that night as they usually drive different routes. “I applaud them both for flawlessly utilizing their crisis intervention skills,” he said. Sheriff Scott Foster called the department’s remarkable teamwork a “true Christmas miracle.”

The officers hope that sharing this story will encourage people to look out for one another during the holiday season.

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