A family finally has some closure with the recovery of a second missing son and brother.
The second man has been recovered from Sengekontacket Pond today, ending a four-day search that started Sunday night when two brothers went missing after a late-night jump off the big bridge on Beach road on the Oak Bluffs/Edgartown border.
The body of Tavaris Bulgin, 26, was recovered at approximately 6:24 a.m. the next morning by the Massachusetts State Police, and followed a multi-day police, fire, and Coast Guard search. Late Thursday morning, a shellfisherman located Tavaughn Bulgin, 21, near Felix Neck in Edgartown.
A memorial was placed at the big bridge
A memorial was placed at the big bridge
In the wake of the accident, the Island has come together to mourn. Hundreds of members of the community gathered with Bulgin family members at the big bridge on Wednesday evening to hold a vigil in honor of the brothers.
The two men, of Clarendon, Jamaica, were employees of Nomans, a restaurant in Oak Bluffs, Edgartown police chief Bruce McNamee confirmed Tuesday.
“Tavaris and Tavaughn left an impression on everyone they met—at 26 and 21 years old, their bright smiles, charismatic personalities, unshakable faith and unrelenting positive attitude made them an absolute joy to be around,” Doug Abdelnour, owner of Nomans, wrote on the Tavaris and Tavaughn Memorial Fund web page he created to cover funeral and travel expenses for the family.
The memorial
The memorial
With an initial fundraising target of $50,000, the fund has since raised more than $176,000, with more than 1,300 donors contributing to the cause. One anonymous donor contributed $25,000 Wednesday afternoon.
The brothers are survived by their parents, Reverend Keith and Jacqueline Bulgin of Palmers Cross, Clarendon, Jamaica, and by their two sisters.
Reverend Leslie Pinnock of the Escarpment Road New Testament Church of God of Kingston, Jamaica, spoke to the Jamaica Observer on behalf of the grieving family. He confirmed that both Tavaris and Tavaughn were active in their father’s ministry.
“They played music in church, and were actively involved in their father’s ministry; these were young men who were destined to make a difference,” Rev. Pinnock told the Observer.
A Coast Guard helicopter took part in search efforts.
A Coast Guard helicopter took part in search efforts.
Both young men had studied business at universities in Jamaica, he added.
Lieutenant Chris Dolby of the Edgartown Police Department (EPD) told the Gazette that the search effort for the brothers began around 11 p.m. Sunday night, after EPD received a call reporting “swimmers in distress” at the big bridge.
“Once on scene, police learned several employees of a local restaurant traveled to the bridge; four individuals jumped off the bridge. Two individuals began to struggle in the current,” Cape & Islands District Attorney Michael O’Keefe wrote in a press release. Those two individuals “did not return to shore,” the press release continued.
Within minutes of the initial call, Oak Bluffs and Edgartown rescue boats were searching the area. State police and Coast Guard helicopters, boats and divers began multiple searches inside and outside of Sengekontacket Pond. Shoreline searches were conducted on foot and by all-terrain vehicle along all the northern-facing shoreline from the small bridge to bend in the road as well as the pond side.
Oak Bluffs police chief Jonathan Searle said state and environmental police had continued the search Tuesday morning, performing grid searches with sonar technology. He said divers manually checked areas flagged by sonar scans.
Oak Bluffs fire chief Nelson Wirtz said that marker buoys were dropped and followed and their paths and locations searched multiple times.
Adverse weather Wednesday complicated the state and environmental police’s continued efforts.The big bridge, officially named the American Legion Memorial Bridge, is known colloquially as the “Jaws” bridge for its prominent feature in the 1975 blockbuster of the same name.
Comments
I've been coming here for 64
David Larson Oak BluffsI've been coming here for 64 years and jumping off Big Bridge since I was a kid. I can't help but think this tragedy would not have happened had this group jump been made at 7pm rather then at 11 pm. The loss of a young life and perhaps a second one, looks like a consequence of a bad judgment, to jump in the dark, rather then the small level of inherent risk of jumping from that bridge. It is a horrible and way over the top price to pay for a youthful misjudgement.
As a mother who lost her son
Gayle New Jersey, Oak BluffsAs a mother who lost her son in an equally preventable accident, my first reaction to this is, "Oh my god, those poor parents!" They are going through the most horrific tragedy that a parent can encounter. Why these young men decided to jump off the bridge in the dark, with no knowledge of the tides, is an example of youth's desire to take risks. This is beyond sad.
State Highway. State Bridge.
West Tisbury Fisherman West TisburyState Highway. State Bridge. State signage. Never enforced, even promoted (News paper articles and tee shirts)!! Who is liable? Suspect litigation!
Obviously a sad story and condolences to the family but…. I guess rules are there to be broken and now probably two lives and a family broken. What is the purpose of the signage? And for those who have “done it hundreds of times” …….. leading by example?
Can’t fix stupid!
I remember jumping off big
MarkI remember jumping off big bridge as a kid on the channel side and just expecting to get sucked under the bridge. then swimming ashore on the pond side. It seemed fairly easy to do then, even with a strong current. But i have to wonder if the jetty barrier thats over there now, which wasnt there before the new bridge, makes it harder to do that. I also wonder if it makes those strong currents even stronger since maybe the tide cant disperse over there the way it used to. Im sure that barrier needed to be built, but just food for thought for future jumpers if we ever get back to that point and to hopefully help prevent something like this from happening again.
A lasting tribute to make an
George Stein OBA lasting tribute to make an actual commitment to young people by spending time with them to develop more rational decisions. Posting heart break and support can best be measured by change in connecting to young people making them stronger in their choices. Whether academic, athletic or religious there are many venues to empower our youth to avert these events from reoccurring. Find time to give them your heart and soul in honor of these tremendous young men. Time well spent
God bless these souls gone
Gabrielle West TisburyGod bless these souls gone way to young. A great legacy of their lives would be if all employers educated their staff on water safety. It is the right thing to do.
First, my condolences and
Pamela M. Rich MVFirst, my condolences and prayers to the family of these two young men. I cannot imagine the weight of this tragedy to their family and to all that knew and loved them. I pray for all of their strength and healing.
Second, what's so surreal for me personally is that my family and I were at this exact location (the Jaws Bridge) on Sunday, just hours before this tragedy occurred. My older brother and close friend both made the jump around 5:00PM for nostalgic reasons (my BF & I decided not to. My childhood memories were enough for me at the time); my brother did so twice. He commented about the strength of the current, but he, fortunately, swam ashore safely- twice (as did many others of many ages across the board). The atmosphere was so electrifying that we took pictures along with many other onlookers.
That said, no lay person knows the current's strength differentials between that hour of our visit versus the time that these two fine young men jumped in with friends, just before 11PM (minutes before police arrived) and if you're not used to current volatility, one can be shocked by the different kind of swimming needed to adjust to strong currents.
This is just heartbreaking. My heart absolutely aches for the loss of these two brothers and I hug their families virtually.
Used to go to Quincy from
Charlie Callahan So Boston/EdgartownUsed to go to Quincy from southie to jump in the quarries in the 60's. Lost 4 friends there. The only way to stop kids from using the bridge is to have it lit up more and patrolled 24/7. The towns won't spend the money cause they really don't care that much and they would end up arguing over who will pay for it and their egos will get in the way as usual down here,so nothing will get done,even though it's only one tiny bridge that needs watching. Too bad cause it will happen again.
A beautiful memorial to
Jesse Chase Martha's VineyardA beautiful memorial to Tavaughn and Tavaris Bulgin, which will undoubtedly help support their loved ones in their hour of heartbreaking need.
Also notable is that today’s USD to JMD exchange rate is $1 USD = $151.82 JMD. Thus, their $213,370 USD GoFundMe account total today is now providing the Jamaican Bulgin family with $32,393,812.06 JMD to date! That’s an enormous sum and will definitely provide financial comfort and support for them, their family, loved ones, and also help their entire community (and beyond). Perhaps the Bulgin family will create educational scholarships in the names of their beloved departed sons, Tavaugn and Tavaris.
Prayers of peace for these young men and for their loved ones.
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