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Macon Ponder - Bridge Inspector
He lives in Panama City, FL. He flew in yesterday (April 4th, 2023) for trial. He is a bridge inspector for the Florida Department of Transportation and a senior dive team leader. There is a list of bridges to inspect monthly. Bridges had to be inspected every two years.
Escambia River Bridge
- March 17 2020: he was inspecting Escambia River Bridge.
- a concrete bridge.
- rather long.
- marshy area, inaccessible to vehicles.
- Near Pensacola, FL.
- Several miles from the gulf of Mexico (7 or 8 miles as the crow flies).
- Escambia River eventually dumps into Escambia Bay which goes out to the pass into the gulf.
- The bridge would've been inspected March 2018. It's 12 or 1300 feet long.
- There are boats stuck in the area (from hurricanes) that no one can get to due to the marshy area and possibly no lights on the bridge.
- It’s not a populated area.
- The inspector couldn't remember but believes the bridge is lit.
- At night if you were unfamiliar with the area you would be unable to tell if it was water or land.
Discovery
- He found a suitcase under the bridge right next to the edge of the bridge in a marshy/wooded area. They didn't look in it right away.
- It was the eastbound lanes, the right side of the structure.
- The suitcase was at the very end of the bridge.
- When they finished their initial profile and went back to the other side of the bridge where the suitcase was, out of "pure curiosity".
- The handle was toward the underside of the bridge, suitcase was at an odd angle. The witness immediately noticed how heavy it was; wasn't sure if it was just waterlogged or what.
- They decided to open it a bit away under the bridge where it wasn't as marshy, roughly ten feet away.
- The witness opened the suitcase. He was the one to unzip it. They immediately noticed the smell. He said "Matt, I think there's something dead in here" to his co-worker. They do see puppies and cats out there sometimes but it was much stronger smelling that day.
- They decided to unzip it all the way. The smell was so overpowering they had to step back. He saw two little feet that had football socks on. Before he could react at all, Matt dumped the suitcase over. They then knew it was a body. They couldn't tell if it was a boy or girl, just saw black hair.
- The suitcase was too big to be a carry on, size of an older checked bag suitcase.
- There was a lot of bedding in the suitcase. The body was partially wrapped up in the fetal position.
- The witness walked away. They called the inspection off. Matt, a volunteer firefighter, called 911.
- Witness can't remember if there was an indentation in the ground.
Exhibits
- Exhibit 60 is a Google Earth image of the Escambia River Bridge.
- Exhibit 61 is an annotated Google Earth image, where the witness pointed out things and emailed it back to prosecutor.
- Exhibit 63 is a magnified image of the structure.
- Exhibit 64 is a photo taken on the westbound bridge in the safety lane, looking west.
- (We can suddenly see this witness as he looks behind him on a screen at the exhibits.
- Exhibit 65 is a photo of where the suitcase was found.
- Exhibit 66 is where the suitcase was opened, witness points to an area where they pulled the suitcase from.
- Exhibit 67 is a photo of the open suitcase and bedding.
- Exhibit 68 and 69 are more photos of the suitcase and immediate area.
Cross Examination
- Asked about what equipment they use for their inspections, how often that area floods.