A man (or woman) who swung from a construction crane hundreds of feet above downtown Austin is still on the loose. Police have yet to identify the suspect, who somehow escaped into the high-rise building without being caught.
It is a mystery!
The incident took place on Sunday morning around 10:00 a.m. Officers were called for a welfare check in the 400-block of Guadalupe Street. The person who called the police said there was a person hanging off the edge of a construction crane at the top of a building known as the Republic in Austin, Texas.
Officers found the person in the middle of his descent upon arrival to the building. They immediately evacuated the area out of an abundance of caution. They did not know what he or she (definitely he, let’s be real) was planning to do.
As it would turn out, there was no ulterior motive to the swing. The person repelled from the end of the crane to the base of the crane, climbed down a few flights using the crane’s ladder and disappeared into the building through an unidentified door. Police could not get to him or her fast enough.
And he climbed himself back up and then the arms right here that are attached to the building, he climbed over into the building, and then you never saw him again.
— Eyewitness Eve Lessing, via Fox 7 Austin
At this time, this is still an ongoing investigation. The person has not been identified. No arrest have been made.
The motive behind the Austin crane swing is unknown.
The crane-swinger is still at large after swinging from the end of the crane, hundreds of feet above downtown Austin. Here is a video that shows his or her perilous swing:
Someone took this crane in Austin, TX for a swing pic.twitter.com/RwN4wV91jc
— LASHY BILLS (@LASHYBILLS) April 21, 2025
If you look closely, you can actually see a second person standing on the crane’s arm. He or she at no point approaches the ledge.
It also appears as though the person has a recording device attached to a pole during the swing and I would imagine that this video was filmed for YouTube. However, with the police actively searching for the crane-swinger, it will presumably take some time for the video to be released to the public. Stay tuned.