Concord Fire Rescue Call Leads to Arrest of Homeless Woman

Concord Fire and Rescue teams were called to the Merrimack River at a little past 2 p.m. on June 17 for a report of a woman jumping off the I-393 bridge. However, officials doubt the claim, and the woman was later arrested on warrants.

Susan Marston, 48, a homeless woman now located in Concord, was arrested and charged with four outstanding warrants based on previous criminal trespass and filing a false report charges this year.

Dan Andrus, the chief of the Concord Fire Department, said firefighters, including a ladder truck, two boats, and an ambulance responded to the river and searched the area, later finding Marston in the water.

But Andrus challenged the call that she jumped from the bridge.

“It wasn’t apparent that she had jumped from the bridge,” he said. “She had no injuries or health problems which wouldn’t be consistent with a jump.”

Andrus estimated that the distance between the river and the bridge might be as high as three stories. He said police were looking into the specifics of the case. Andrus said units were on the scene for about an hour.

Lt. Timothy O’Malley, the commander of the criminal division of the Concord Police Department said the motive for Marston being in the water was “not clear” but “alcohol may have been involved.” Marston was OK though, he said.

Although the official report was not yet available, O’Malley also questioned the call that she jumped from the bridge.

“We’re not quite sure how she got in the water,” he said.

Investigators though, suspect she went into the river near the Capital Area Veterinary Emergency Service at the intersection of Intervale Road and Fort Eddy Road and floated downstream, he said. First responders located Marston near the Loudon Road bridge, O’Malley said.

Marston’s previous charges relate to trespassing near the Capital Plaza Shopping Center in May. During the interaction with police, Marston reportedly gave the name of her sister, Anne Emmons. When the sister saw her name in the Concord Monitor, she reported to police that Marston might be using her name and new warrants were issued, according to a follow-up report in the Monitor.

Marston was also arrested in November 2012, and charged with allegedly assaulting her boyfriend in late October of that year on North State Street. She was arrested in November 2006 on criminal mischief, criminal trespass, and domestic simple assault charges against her boyfriend at the time.