( CNN ) -- A social media thread proved strong enough to pull a New Jersey teenager back from possible suicide , according to authorities . And it was a social networking first for officers from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department -- using Facebook and other outlets this week to track down and help a troubled 18-year-old whose three-word online posting seemed to say suicide . `` Thinking of jumping , '' the teenager posted to his Facebook profile , alongside a photo of the George Washington Bridge spanning the Hudson River . A concerned Facebook friend who saw the post contacted police in Paterson , New Jersey , alerting authorities to the apparent suicide threat , according to Port Authority spokesman Joe Pentangelo . The alert was just the beginning . Pentangelo gave this scenario of events : . Paterson police called Port Authority officers , who serve the major bridges and tunnels of New York and New Jersey . A photo of the young man was downloaded from his Facebook page and distributed to officers searching the bridge -- unsuccessfully -- for the teen among the bridge 's pedestrians . An officer assigned to Port Authority police 's emergency services , Lt. Thomas Michaels , set out to contact the young man through Facebook , leaving his cell phone number on the page and urging the teen to call him . And Port Authority Sgt . Nadine Rhem also took to Facebook , sending more offers of support and assistance . Other Facebook friends of the young man saw what was happening and sent messages of their own on the social networking site , urging the teen to call Michaels . Within a matter of hours , Pentangelo said , Michaels received a phone call . It was the young man . He told Michaels he was on a bus in Patterson , and Michaels insisted they meet in person to talk . After the officer and the teen met and talked , Pentangelo said , the teen volunteered to be taken to a local hospital for help . While Port Authority police have used social media before to investigate threats and gather information , Pentangelo said , this was the first time social media was used to reach out . And a potential suicide subject reached back .
A New Jersey teen posts on Facebook a bridge photo and `` Thinking of jumping '' Port Authority police are alerted , they use a Facebook photo of the teen to search the bridge . Other officers reach out directly through social media to try to contact him . He responds , meets with an officer and volunteers to be taken to a hospital for help .