The daredevils who scaled the towers of the Brooklyn Bridge and put white flags in place of the US flags there have eluded capture for three days, and authorities on Friday said that they were not much closer to finding them.
“Already a couple of calls have come in, but nothing really specific,” said a senior Police Department official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the open investigation.
There were reports that DNA had been found on the bridge, though they could not be confirmed.
Even if DNA had been found, the official said, it was unlikely it could generate any significant leads.
However, the attention the case has received might help. The two white flags waving over one of the city’s most recognizable structures sent Facebook, Twitter, newspapers and even major television networks aflutter when they were discovered early on Tuesday.
The details of the escapade were just as riveting.
The authorities said the perpetrators went onto the bridge just after 3am and used what appeared to be large aluminum baking pans to block the large lights that illuminate the towers at night. The group then climbed one tower and then another to switch the flags before climbing down and disappearing.
That there were no witnesses seems impossible. Even at night, traffic moves at a steady clip over the bridge.
And yet no one has come forward to offer specific evidence, officials said.
The episode has raised questions about security at the Brooklyn Bridge.
This week, City Hall vowed to increase surveillance there and elsewhere.
A New York Police Department (NYPD) spokeswoman said no officers had been disciplined for the security breach.
“The NYPD has already implemented increased security measures on the Brooklyn Bridge, and multiple agencies are collaborating with the police on further measures that will increase the safety of this and other key facilities,” New York First Deputy Mayor Anthony Shorris said in a statement on Thursday.
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