Space Needle Tourists Visit Restroom, Return Wearing Helmets and Jump Off Building

Two men visiting Seattle’s Space Needle on Friday evening apparently decided that using the elevator to leave would be unnecessarily conventional.

Instead, they bought tickets, rode to the observation deck, changed into BASE-jumping equipment inside a restroom and parachuted from the top of the 605-foot landmark.

Seattle police are now searching for the two men, who successfully transformed an ordinary evening of sightseeing into an active criminal investigation.

According to police, the unidentified men entered the Space Needle at approximately 8:50 p.m. They were described as white males in their late 20s and initially behaved much like regular tourists, assuming regular tourists commonly spend their first several minutes carefully examining which portions of a building might be suitable for jumping off.

Surveillance cameras recorded the pair standing around the upper observation level, possibly scouting their intended departure point.

They then entered a restroom.

When they emerged, both men were wearing helmets and other BASE-jumping equipment, providing security personnel with a subtle indication that the visitors might not be planning to purchase commemorative photographs and quietly ride the elevator back downstairs.

The men reportedly ran toward the tall glass panels surrounding the outdoor observation deck, climbed over the barrier and moved to the outside of the structure.

Then they jumped.

Video posted online shows the two men climbing over the glass before disappearing over the edge. Witnesses could reportedly be heard realizing what was about to happen shortly before the pair launched themselves from one of Seattle’s most recognizable landmarks.

Their parachutes apparently deployed successfully, although Space Needle security personnel did not know where the men landed. Police searched for the jumpers but were unable to locate them.

This means the pair paid admission, rode approximately 500 feet into the air, used the restroom, jumped from the building and left without ever passing through the gift shop.

Police were called to the Space Needle shortly after 9:20 p.m. The men remain unidentified and could face trespassing charges if authorities find them. Detectives with the Seattle Police Department’s General Investigation Unit are handling the case. Associated Press

BASE jumping involves parachuting from fixed objects rather than aircraft. The name is an acronym for the four general categories of objects participants jump from: buildings, antennas, spans—such as bridges—and Earth, meaning cliffs or other natural formations.

The Space Needle would qualify under “building,” although “very expensive tourist attraction that specifically did not sell you a jumping ticket” might constitute a fifth category.

Unlike ordinary skydiving, BASE jumps begin at relatively low altitudes and leave participants with far less time to deploy their parachutes or correct a problem. The activity is dangerous even when performed by experienced jumpers under carefully planned conditions.

Leaping from a crowded tourist attraction without authorization adds the possibility of injuring people below, colliding with the structure or forcing security employees to explain to police how two visitors entered a restroom as tourists and emerged as airborne fugitives.

The Space Needle was built for the 1962 World’s Fair and rises 605 feet above Seattle. Its observation deck is surrounded by high glass barriers that remain open to the sky at the top—an architectural detail intended to provide visitors with an unobstructed view, not an unofficial launch platform.

The attraction confirmed that the jump was unauthorized and said it was cooperating with police while investigators reviewed the incident.

Authorities have not announced whether the men left identifying information when they bought their tickets or whether they purchased them under false names. They also have not revealed whether security footage shows how the pair concealed two parachutes and their other equipment while entering the building.

Presumably, the helmets were the easy part.

The suspects’ current whereabouts remain unknown. Police have also not said whether the two men escaped in a waiting vehicle, fled on foot or simply folded their parachutes and blended into the Seattle nightlife as though they had arrived from somewhere other than directly above it.

Anyone who can identify the men is encouraged to contact Seattle police.

Space Needle officials have not announced any changes to restroom policy, observation-deck security or the attraction’s existing rule that visitors are expected to exit the building through one of the doors.

For now, the men remain at large after executing what may be the most elaborate method ever devised to avoid waiting for a downward elevator.