Missing woman found dead in Beverly likely fell into freezing lake while walking dog, DA says
BEVERLY - Missing woman Owen Kasozi, who was found dead in Beverly on Christmas, is believed to have fallen into a freezing lake while walking her dog, authorities say.
Kasozi, a 30-year-old from Danvers, was found dead in Wenham Lake after an extensive search, Essex County District Attorney Paul Tucker said in a statement.
She was last seen on Tuesday at around 3 p.m. near the JC Phillips Nature Preserve in Beverly, which is a popular dog-walking location. Her family told WBZ-TV she was walking her dog at the time.
Missing woman's dog was found nearby
I-Team sources had said police were looking into reports that Kasozi had been walking or running after her dog when she went missing. Her dog was found wet in Topsfield, and her car was found nearby.
Tucker says it's believed Kasozi was walking or running after her dog when she fell into the icy lake and was unable to get out. Temperatures were below freezing on Tuesday.
Search teams were out in the woods off Cabot Street in Beverly all day on Wednesday until the medical examiner arrived late in the afternoon.
"My beautiful sister is gone"
"My beautiful sister is gone," Kasozi's sister wrote on Facebook, less than 24 hours after she went missing.
No foul play is suspected by investigators but the medical examiner will determine an official cause of death.
"This is not the search outcome that anyone was hoping for," Tucker said in a statement. "We appreciate the efforts of all our law enforcement partners who worked diligently over Christmas Eve and Christmas Day to locate Owen Kasozi. Our thoughts are with her family as they begin to cope with this painful loss."