Cincinnati Photographer Charged In Mackinac Bridge Climb: Police

ST. IGNACE, MICH. — A 25-year-old Cincinnati man has been charged with felony trespassing of a key facility after Michigan State Police troopers say he climbed the Mackinac Bridge in November.

Isaac Wright was arraigned on the charge Thursday after appearing virtually in a Cheboygan County courtroom, according to police officials. The search for Wright began in November after photographs from the south tower of the bridge began appearing on social media. If convicted, Wright faces up to four years in prison, a $2,500 fine or both.

Mackinac Bridge authorities launched the investigation after an alarm was triggered on the bridge in the early morning hours of Nov. 5, police said. The state police learned that other law enforcement agencies from around the country were investigating similar incidents and crimes believed to be involving the same person.

Authorities posted an online message about the incident trying to keep others from copying Wright’s work. Wright's Instagram feed includes images from several photo shoots that have taken place around the country.

"This is not a harmless stunt," bridge authority secretary Kim Nowack told the Detroit Free Press in December. "This individual risked not only his own life but also the lives of those crossing the bridge beneath him, and would have threatened the safety of emergency personnel and Mackinac Bridge Authority staff had a rescue been needed.”

State police officials announced Friday that multiple law enforcement agencies worked to track Wright to Winona, Ariz., where he was arrested. Wright was then extradited back to Ohio, where he is being held in the Hamilton County Jail on the Michigan charges.

Wright, who was whose work was profiled by the Cincinnati Enquirer after he was arrested on a similar charge in Ohio, is due back in court on March 5.