Airtight Bridge
Encyclopedia
The Airtight Bridge is a steel bridge
spanning the Embarras River
in Coles County, Illinois
, in the United States
8 miles (12.9 km) north of Charleston, Illinois
. The bridge was built in 1914 by the Decatur Bridge Company. The architect was Claude L. James. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places
in 1981 as survey number 81000211.
In 1980, a dismembered corpse was found on the east bank of the river thirty yards downstream from the bridge, causing quite a stir in the local media. Police investigated for years, but were unable to determine the identity of the victim until 1992, when DNA testing produced a match to a missing person from Kankakee, Illinois. The murder is now in the cold case file of the Illinois State Police.
Bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle...
spanning the Embarras River
Embarras River
The Embarras River is a tributary of the Wabash River in southeastern Illinois in the United States. The waters of the Embarras reach the Gulf of Mexico via the Wabash, Ohio, and Mississippi rivers. The river drains a watershed of approximately in an agricultural region...
in Coles County, Illinois
Coles County, Illinois
Coles County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it has a population of 53,873, which is an increase of 1.3% from 53,196 in 2000. Its county seat is Charleston, which is also the home of Eastern Illinois University....
, in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
8 miles (12.9 km) north of Charleston, Illinois
Charleston, Illinois
Charleston is a city in and the county seat of Coles County, Illinois, United States. The population was 21,838 as of the 2010 census. The city is home to Eastern Illinois University and has close ties with its neighbor Mattoon, Illinois...
. The bridge was built in 1914 by the Decatur Bridge Company. The architect was Claude L. James. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1981 as survey number 81000211.
In 1980, a dismembered corpse was found on the east bank of the river thirty yards downstream from the bridge, causing quite a stir in the local media. Police investigated for years, but were unable to determine the identity of the victim until 1992, when DNA testing produced a match to a missing person from Kankakee, Illinois. The murder is now in the cold case file of the Illinois State Police.
External links
- Airtight Bridge at the Association for the Preservation of Historic Coles County Illinois
- Background information
- Airtight Bridge at the Legends and Lore of Illinois
- Murder at the Airtight Bridge
- Airtight Bridge Murder Mystery (Archived 2009-10-24)
- Jonathon Kirk's Experimental Radio Documentary focused on the murder at Airtight Bridge