Two brothers drowned Sunday evening after jumping off of a well-known bridge located in Martha’s Vineyard, which was popularized by the 1975 film “Jaws” and is known as “Jaws” bridge.
Massachusetts State Police recovered the body of 26-year-old Tavaris Bulgin the next morning and the body of 21-year-old Tavaughn was discovered Thursday morning by a shell fisherman, according to The Vineyard Gazette.
Tragedy struck Sunday night when the Bulgin brothers jumped off of the bridge after dark alongside two other friends. While the pair that was with the brothers re-emerged from the water unscathed, Tavaris and Tavaughn did not return to shore, Boston.com reported. (RELATED: Three Teens Jump Off Cape Cod Bridge To Save Unconscious Boy In Water)
Chris Dolby of the Edgartown Police Department said that initial search efforts started at approximately 11 p.m. Sunday night after a call came in reporting “swimmers in distress” at the bridge, according to the Gazette. (RELATED: ‘Jaws’ Child Actor Becomes Police Chief Of Town Where Movie Was Shot)
Local police, Massachusetts State Police and the United States Coast Guard began searching for the bodies that night, and Tavaris’s body was recovered by authorities the next morning, Boston.com reported.
BREAKING: U.S. Coast Guard search teams are looking for two missing swimmers on Martha’s Vineyard.
Crews are focusing their search in the area of the “Jaws” Bridge in Edgartown.
More: https://t.co/dUmpqR856O pic.twitter.com/ZswG8pcC5Y
— Rob Way (@RobWayTV) August 15, 2022
By Monday night, the search for Tavaugn was suspended by the Coast Guard “pending further developments,” ABC-6 reported.
The two brothers hailed from Jamaica, and both worked at the Martha’s Vineyard restaurant Noman’s, located in a popular tourist spot on the island Oak Bluffs, the Gazette noted. (RELATED: Gas For Me But Not For Thee: Obama To Install Massive Propane Tanks In New England Mansion)
Brothers who leapt from ‘Jaws’ bridge were following a strong Jamaican connection to Cape and Islands https://t.co/XaDodVmXLm
— Boston Globe Metro (@GlobeMetro) August 19, 2022
Both brothers had studied business at separate colleges in Jamaica, according to Boston.com.
The official moniker of “Jaws” Bridge is the American Legion Memorial Bridge.