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Man dies in jump from Houston skyscraper
12/16/2002

Associated Press


HOUSTON - A man scaling the southwest corner of one of Houston's best-known skyscrapers jumped about 30 stories to his death Monday morning.

The man was about halfway up the 901-foot, 64-story Williams Tower when he leapt about 7:45 a.m., Houston Fire Department spokesman Jay Evans said.

Police recovered a driver's license and a note containing a message of a political nature. Authorities declined to reveal the man's identity or details of the note, other than to say it did not mention plans to jump.

Sources close to the investigation told KHOU-TV the note dealt with opposition to the opression of Muslims and contained wording to the effect that the man was opposed to the United States entering a Vietnam-like conflict.



KHOU-TV


A man climbed to the 30th floor of the Williams Tower before leaping to his death Monday.
"He did not have any of the normal professional equipment you'd normally see on someone trying to climb a building," Evans said. He said there was no immediate sign of any harnesses, belts or suction cups.

The man was wearing a powder bag on his waist, using it to apply rosin to his hands, and also employed some sort of handheld pick on the window molding as he moved higher.

Police received the first call about the climber at 6:53 a.m. and witnesses said he appeared to spring from the black Galleria-area glass tower. Evans said the man somehow reached the outside of the building from the 10th floor.



KHOU-TV


The Williams Tower is Houston's third-largest building.
Police tried to talk to the man from an open window a few floors below as he continued to ascend.

Witness Pat McGarey, a tower worker, said the man was yelling or singing and periodically waved his hands before taking an extended pause.

"It clearly looked like he jumped as opposed to falling," McGarey said.

Rescue personnel and a crowd of onlookers gathered below, television helicopters hovered above and motorists from the West Loop freeway, the busiest in Texas, all had a view of the black-clad man as he climbed, then jumped.

Evans said building climbers in Houston typically have reached the top or were rescued or apprehended beforehand.

"We've been very fortunate here in Houston, with many tall buildings," Evans said.

The Art Deco-inspired skyscraper was formerly known as the Transco Tower was built in 1983 and is known for the floodlight beacon at it's top. It was designed by famed architect Philip Johnson.