A BLOODHOUND LOOKING FOR THE MISSING CHESTER GIRL
FOUND THE CORPSE BY THE MOUTH OF RIDLEY CREEK.
Wednesday, April 24, 1996
Section: NEIGHBORS
Page: B01
By Kyle York Spencer, INQUIRER CORRESPONDENT
Directed by a bloodhound, the crew found the body of a 5-foot-7, 123-pound black male in the river at the mouth of Ridley Creek - the border between Chester and Eddystone. The man remained unidentified yesterday, officials said.
``Call it ironic. I mean, how many times does this happen? You go looking for a missing person and you come up with an unrelated dead body,'' said Chester Police Commissioner Wendell Butler Jr., who was advised of the discovery by an officer.
The body was lodged beneath a cement dry dock near a construction site commonly known as Penn Terminal. Officials estimated that the man had been in his mid-20s and had been dead for about a month.
Yesterday, John Finnegan, Chester's deputy police commissioner, said officials had determined that the man was probably not from Chester.
Several officials said they thought the body might have floated down the Delaware from Philadelphia or Pennsauken. Both municipalities have contacted Chester police seeking more information about the body.
The body was draped in small branches and wet leaves. Officials said it looked like an oversize bird's nest that had fallen into the river.
``All you could see was a little bit of a silver belt buckle,'' said Chester Officer Adam Sendek, a crime-scene investigator who photographed the body. ``But when you got close you saw the body. . . . If it hadn't been for the dog, they never would have seen it.''
Sir Watson, the bloodhound, was part of the Montgomery County-based Greater Philadelphia Search and Rescue Team, which had volunteered its services.
The body was missing a face and one hand, which may make it difficult for officials to identify it. Broken bones and teeth may be used instead, officials said, adding that the remaining hand may yield fingerprints.
The body's removal Monday night from the brackish waters took about six rescuers.
``We thought it was going to break apart when we lifted it,'' said Sendek. ``But it didn't.
It was carefully placed in a large bag and sent to the Delaware County Medical Examiner's Office.
A spokesman for the office said yesterday that an autopsy had been completed but that a report would not be issued for a few days.
Reflecting on the discovery, Butler said, ``You know, I've seen just about everything imaginable. But really, I was relieved it was not the little girl.''