Bicycle under bridge prompts river search

Emergency personnel responded in force at 10:45 a.m. onto and under the Monroe Street Bridge after someone riding one of the gondolas reported seeing a bicycle next to one of the basalt-walled pools in the Spokane River. The woman also thought an object in the water resembled a child wearing a helmet, Spokane Police spokeswoman Officer Jennifer DeRuwe said. Rescue crews launched kayaks to get a closer look but found only an orange Frisbee, floating trash and a couple balloons. After Avista Utilities shut off the flow of water over the dam, city fire snorkelers and Spokane County Sheriff’s Office dive team divers searched the pool to make sure. Crews found a children’s bicycle on the north shore under the bridge, but DeRuwe said a witness recalled seeing the bike there on Tuesday. “How do you tell a parent that we didn’t give it our all?” DeRuwe said regarding the response that choked traffic on Monroe for about two hours. Fire crews cleared the scene at about noon but sheriff’s divers took the opportunity for some extra training.