Body Found In Northeast Philadelphia Positively Identified As Missing Woman Casey Johnston: Sources
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Sources tell CBS3 the Medical Examiner's Office has positively identified a body found Sunday in Northeast Philadelphia as Casey Johnston. Johnston, 26, went missing on July 10. According to the medical examiner, Johnston's cause of death is listed as blunt impact trauma caused by an accident.
More than three weeks since anyone last saw Johnston, police found her body Sunday.
"During the search this afternoon, members of the Philadelphia Police Marine Unit located the body on the 1200 block of Townsend Road in Philadelphia," Lower Southampton Chief of Police Ted Krimmel said.
Krimmel says the body was about half a mile from Johnston's car's location. Officials taped off a wooded area, near the intersection of Townsend and Southampton Roads, after a body was located on Sunday afternoon.
A preliminary investigation shows Johnston, while driving on Woodhaven Road, crashed the car.
"It appears she didn't negotiate the curve properly," Chief Krimmel says, adding, "She went down to the culvert went airborne up and over the guardrail and she crashed into a tree about 30 feet into the air."
Police believe she was ejected from the vehicle through the sunroof during the fall.
"When the call came out that there was a body found by the marine unit, we just shut all communication down," Krimmel said.
Flooding on July 12 may have played a part in her body being moved into a nearby creek, the chief said.
"We had some flooding in the area we think that culvert filled with water and probably moved her into that creek," Krimmel said.
Officials do not suspect any foul play. Casey's family was notified immediately after the body was recovered.
They now begin the task of grieving, grateful for the support of the community in the search to find Casey.
Since Casey's body was found just over the city line, Bucks County officials have turned over the case to Philadelphia police and medical examiner.
CBS3's Alicia Roberts contributed to this report.
