Autopsy rules woman found in St. Joseph River drowned

Tribune Staff Report

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Rescue workers remove a body found Tuesday morning, June 30, 2009, in the St. Joseph River near the Riverside Apartments in South Bend. (Tribune Photo/JIM RIDER)

By Beth Boehne

Story Created: Jul 1, 2009 at 3:04 PM EST

Story Updated: Jul 1, 2009 at 3:04 PM EST

SOUTH BEND — An autopsy conducted Wednesday revealed it was a woman who was found Tuesday in the St. Joseph River.

Deputy coroner Randy Magdalinski said the autopsy, which was conducted in Fort Wayne, showed the woman died from drowning.

But Magdalinski said the woman’s body, found partially submerged in the river and badly decomposed, showed few obvious clues to her identity. He said even determining the woman’s age was impossible.

Magdalinski said investigators would do DNA testing to see if the body matches one of the handful of missing persons cases in St. Joseph County.

The body was found Tuesday by two fishermen near the 1600 block of Riverside Drive. At the scene, police said the body appeared to have been in the river for a long time.

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