Body pulled from Arkansas River

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The body of a man who is believed to have fallen off the Junction Bridge on Friday night was found by sheriff’s deputies and pulled from the Arkansas River on Sunday afternoon, police said.

Johnathan Pinkston, 23, of Jacksonville fell from the bridge at 11:35 p.m. Friday, Little Rock police spokesman Officer Cassandra Davis said.

A friend told police she was walking across the bridge with Pinkston when he crossed over the guardrail “attempting to grab a hold of another rail” when he slipped and fell into the river, Davis said.

A Pulaski County sheriff’s office dive team searched the river Saturday and Sunday, Davis said. On Sunday afternoon, some people in a boat flagged down the deputies and told them they had found a body near Little Rock National Airport, Adams Field.

Deputies found it about 4:45 p.m., sheriff’s office spokesman John Rehrauer said.

Pinkston is the first person to fall from the bridge, originally built for train traffic, since it opened to pedestrians May 17 after a $5.8 million renovation. The death is believed to be an accident, but Little Rock police are investigating, Davis said.

For more information see Monday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.