LUCERNE — A man who committed suicide in Lucerne”s Harbor Park last week has been identified.
On Monday Lake County Sheriff Rodney Mitchell identified the man as Milton B. Bankhead, 56, of Marysville.
Bankhead apparently tied one end of a rope around his neck and the other around a cement park bench shortly before 8:30 a.m. Friday at Lucerne Harbor Park, then accelerated across the parking lot toward the lake.
Sgt. Mike Morshed of the Lake County Sheriff”s Office said paint transfer on the rope indicated it had been hanging out of the back left window, which apparently was already broken.
Morshed said the force of the acceleration decapitated Bankhead, snapping the rope and sending the car across the parking lot, over an embankment full of boulders and into the lake.
The red Ford Windstar was partially submerged when a witness who had been collecting cans in the park went into the water to investigate.
The very public suicide has affected many, said Mitchell.
“Suicide is never fair to the survivors,” said Mitchell. “In cases of traumatic suicide like this, it leaves an indelible mark on people. It had an effect on the firefighters who arrived on the scene, on the deputies who had to handle his body, and on the witness who found him like that.”
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com.
Editor”s note: It”s not the policy of most newspapers to cover suicides unless, such as in this case, the event takes place in a very public way. In such an instance, what is a very private and tragic act is then considered a matter of public interest.
