A man was talked off a cliff Wednesday evening after he fled deputies and stood poised atop a 60-foot drop into the frigid waters of the Collins River.

Authorities say the man, Christopher L. Johnson, 35, had to be taken seriously as he stood atop the cliff since he had leapt from the same cliff into the river several years ago when he also ran from lawmen.
However, temperatures Wednesday lingered around the teens meaning a death-defying leap from the withering heights may have proven fatal, not due to the fall but due to hypothermia.

Johnson ran from deputies when they arrived at a residence on Bickford Lane to take him into custody on outstanding warrants arising from an earlier domestic situation involving his girlfriend.

He faces charges of false imprisonment, kidnapping and domestic assault from that incident.

Johnson bolted on foot when officers arrived, prompting a chase from the house to the bluff that overlooks the Collins River. Giving chase was deputy Brystol Davis who, along with others, cornered Johnson atop the bluff. However, Johnson was not going peacefully.

“He told them he was going to jump,” said Sheriff Jackie Matheny, noting officers were aware he had jumped before in an attempt to avoid arrest.

Given the standoff, deputies called in Lt. Bill Davis of the McMinnville Police Department who also happens to be the father of Deputy Davis, the officer who had cornered Johnson on the bluff.

“It took about four hours but eventually they talked him down,” Matheny said of the long negotiations.

“Everybody was frozen stiff by the time it was over."