'Not Finding Out Is Not An Option': Family Of Delaware County Teacher Found Dead In Wilmington River Pressing For Answers
WILMINGTON, Del. (CBS) -- What happened to Susan Ledyard? The Delaware County teacher was found dead in a Wilmington river over the summer and her family remains desperate for answers, telling CBS3 they believe she was murdered.
"Someone out there is responsible for her death," Meg Morrissey-Heinicke, Susan's sister, said Saturday.
CBS3 reached out to the Delaware State Police to confirm its shift in its investigation.
In a statement, police say:
"Our homicide detectives have been involved with the investigation since the onset and it is being investigated as if it could potentially be a homicide, however, we are awaiting the final report from the Division of Forensic Science as to the official cause and manner of death. An official classification will be made once that report is received."
The family maintains they are now looking at a homicide investigation.
"Someone is waking up every day and going to sleep every night knowing they have taken her life and shattered her family," Morrissey-Heinicke said.
Police say Ledyard was discovered in the Brandywine River around 7:40 a.m. on July 23.
Just 80 minutes later, police found her car unattended on Walkers Mill Road, approximately three miles upstream from where her body was recovered.
"We need to make sure people know about this case," Morrissey-Heinicke said.
Family and friends spent Saturday posting flyers, spreading Ledyard's face around town to jog anyone's memory.
"But I can say more than hope, all I feel is just resolve -- not finding out is not an option," Missy Morrissey, Susan's sister, said. "It's not an option. We will find out."
Delaware State Police say their investigation continues into what might have happened to the English teacher who spent the past 13 years at Academy Park High School in Sharon Hill.
"To hear they were looking at it from a standpoint as a homicide was a shock," Jack Morrissey, Susan's father, said. "I don't know who in the world would want to take her life."
"Hearing those words was like learning about her death all over again," Morrissey-Heinicke said. "Knowing she died at the hands of someone, someone she may have known and trusted is devastating."
The family says if anyone has any information about Ledyard's whereabouts between the hours of 3 a.m. to 7 a.m. on July 23 to please contact police.