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The Philadelphia Police Marine Unit found a body at the 1200 block of Townsend Road that appears to match the description of Cassandra Johnston, said Lower Southampton Police Chief John Krimmel at a press conference on Sunday.
The body, while not officially identified as Johnston, is in the medical examiner’s custody and Johnston’s family has been notified, Krimmel said.
“I feel pretty comfortable that it’s her,” Krimmel said.
Johnston, a 26-year old human development and community engagement major, had been missing since July 10 around 5:30 a.m after she was last seen driving a silver 2016 Ford Focus in the area of 12th Street near Vine, The Temple News reported.
The discovery comes a day after a private investigator, hired by Johnston’s family, found Johnston’s car off Woodhaven Road using a chopper and alerted the police, Krimmel said. The body was found approximately half a mile from the car.
It appears that as Johnston was heading west on Woodhaven Road, she missed a curve after getting off the ramp, went over the guardrail and crashed into a tree and experienced an approximately 30-foot fall, Krimmel said. The police believe she was ejected from the car through the sunroof.
Krimmel believes that flooding in the area on July 12, moved the body into a nearby creek.
The Lower Southampton Police Department’s phone had been “ringing off the hook” with tips from community members, Krimmel said.
“I think it was nice to see how the community was reaching out to the family and offering support,” Krimmel said.
An autopsy will be conducted to determine the cause of death, Krimmel said.
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