An inquest in Ruthin heard PC Donaldson, who joined North Wales Police in 2018 and was serving in the Wrexham rural division, had suffered from depression for a couple of years.
PC Ryan Donaldson, 31, plunged from a landmark aqueduct known as a notorious suicide spot.
An inquest heard passers-by saw him jump – and dialled 999 to call police as the body lay on a path at the foot of the drop.
Sergeant Joseph Dunne was called to the scene but did not realise the body was PC Donaldson.
He then found a police warrant card in his pocket – and realised it was his colleague in the North Wales force.
The well-respected rural crime officer plunged to his death just hours after telling his parents that a relationship was over.
Minutes before his death, PC Donaldson texted his former girlfriend to say: ‘I just can’t be bothered anymore.
He also messaged members of his family to say: ‘Sorry for what I am about to do.’
Dr Helen Moon said she and her husband Stephen were crossing the aqueduct above the River Dee when they saw a man sitting on the railings with his legs dangling over the edge in December 2021.
A few seconds later he pushed himself off and plunged to the ground.
Consultant pathologist Dr Mark Atkinson gave the cause of death as multiple injuries.
The officer’s mother, Linda Donaldson, with whom he lived in Wrexham, said he told her that morning that his relationship was at an end, and told her he was going for a walk.
John Gittins, senior coroner for North Wales East and Central, recorded a conclusion of suicide at the Ruthin inquest.
