Police: Recovered body matches description of missing Bucks County, Pa. woman:
By WPVI Staff
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PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — A body was found on Sunday afternoon during a search for a missing Bucks County, Pennsylvania woman.
Police have been looking for 26-year-old Cassandra Johnston who went missing on July 10 after a visit to Philadelphia.
On Sunday, police discovered a body near the Byberry Creek off Townsend Road in Philadelphia. The identity of the body has not been released, but police say it appears to match Johnston’s description.
“I feel pretty comfortable that it is her,” said Lower Southampton Township Police Chief Ted Krimmel during a press conference.
Family members reported Johnston missing after she never returned home from a friend’s house located at 12th and Vine streets in Philadelphia.
Police say Johnston was last seen driving a silver 2016 Ford Focus with Pennsylvania registration.
A break in the case came Saturday when investigators found Johnston’s car in a wooded area off Woodhaven Road, near Roosevelt Boulevard in Northeast Philadelphia.
Johnston’s family had hired private investigator Kevin Ryan, who was tracing what would have been her most likely path home. Ryan had flown a chopper and discovered Johnston’s Ford Focus in a wooded area near a ramp off Roosevelt Boulevard and Woodhaven Road.
It’s still unclear how the car ended up in the woods. Chief Krimmel says it’s possible Johnston had trouble traveling around a curve.
“Went airborne, up and over the guardrail. She crashed into a tree, probably about 30 feet in the air,” Krimmel said. “We believe she was ejected from the car through the sunroof. And the place where the car landed…it was 49 yards from the roadway to where her car landed. You couldn’t see it from the street or the air.”
Authorities believe recent flooding in the area may have moved the body into the nearby creek. Investigators also believe recent tornadoes helped clear tree debris that made it impossible to spot the vehicle during early searches.
Police, at this point, do not suspect foul play.
The Philadelphia Medical Examiner will conduct an autopsy to determine the identity of the body and the exact cause of death.
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