Posted on Thu, May. 28, 2009
A freshly severed leg found in the Delaware River may have been stripped of clues before being tossed in, the New Jersey State Police said yesterday.
The left leg with a 9-inch foot was found by a worker Sunday morning near a pier at the Sunoco Eagle Point Refinery, in West Deptford, Gloucester County, said Sgt. Julian Castellanos.
"It was a clean-cut just below the knee, in very good condition," he said. "There were no socks, no shoes, marks or tattoos."
Castellanos said that it appeared that the leg had not been in the water long, and that a strip of flesh near the calf may have been removed to eliminate an identifying feature.
Investigators have determined that the leg belongs to a body 5 feet 1 to 5 feet 4 tall, but it was unclear whether it belonged to a woman or a man. DNA samples were taken yesterday, Castellanos said.
Castellanos said that the case was being handled by the state police's missing-persons unit, which he said has been in touch with law enforcement in Philadelphia and Delaware, and local hospitals, to check on missing persons.
New Jersey State Police ask those with information on the case to call the missing-persons unit at 609-882-2000, ext. 2554.
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