Police would not confirm if the woman found in Pennsylvania is Lane Alden. See PHOTOS of the search.
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New Jersey State Police have called off the search for a missing Harmony
Township woman after the body of a female was recovered this afternoon along the Pennsylvania side of the Delaware River, according to state police spokesman Sgt. Brian Polite.Police would not confirm the body found was that of Lane Alden, 57. She went missing Saturday when a boat she was in overturned on the river between Harmony and Lower Mount Bethel townships.
The body will be identified pending examination, Polite said. Northampton County Coroner Zachary Lysek said the woman's identity would not be disclosed by the end of today.
The unidentified person was discovered this morning in the river just north of the Interstate 78 overpass along Williams Township, close to the Easton border, according to the Warren County Department of Public Safety.
The first Warren County call was at 10:39 a.m. Authorities recovered the body about 1:30 p.m., returning it to the Scott Park boat launch in Easton, Polite said.
Search efforts along Harmony Township in a section of the Delaware River near the PPL railroad bridge halted shortly after the body was recovered in Pennsylvania. Authorities said early today that a body was believed to be found in the area where the boat capsized.
The driver of the boat, Donald Jessamine, 61, of Phillipsburg, was charged with driving while intoxicated following the incident, police say. Neither Jessamine nor the other man aboard, whom police declined to name, was injured.
Dangerous search areaAt the site of the capsizing, authorities gathered on both sides of the river, with police convening on the New Jersey shore near Davidson Lane in Harmony Township and members of the Pennsylvania Water Rescue setting up camp at the PPL boat launch on the Pennsylvania side.
Boats surrounded a large section of rocks near the railroad bridge for most of the morning and afternoon, as authorities planned how to probe the waters without putting rescuers in danger.
Water rescue Capt.
Marvin McCammon said the search area presented a number of challenges to
authorities, including extremely strong currents.
"This area right here is just extremely dangerous rapids," he said. "They are just moving really swiftly and, of course, there's a couple of rocks that create a problem."
He couldn't confirm that authorities had seen or located a body in the location.
"We're just trying to get down to see exactly what we're looking at," he said.
Alden's family and friends gathered on the Pennsylvania shore to watch as rescue efforts unfolded, some setting up chairs and blankets as they awaited news from authorities. Those approached declined to comment.
'A very, very sweet girl'
Across the river, neighbors who have been following search efforts since Saturday were hopeful that Alden would be found today.
"We've been praying that they just find her. Hopefully, today, it's true," said Christina Christison, who's grown accustomed to police cars overtaking most of her road.
She and her husband, Vaughn Christison, watched from their deck this morning as rescuers tethered ropes from a section of rocks to the shore.
Vaughn Christison, who has lived near the river for 13 years, said he pulls out about five people from the rapids every year, although this is the first death in this stretch of water that he could remember. His wife added that many people go onto the river without knowing how dangerous it can be.
"There's only about three to four people on this river that know, know, know the river," she said.
She said that she wasn't close to Alden, but knew her as an outgoing person. She said that Alden was seen waving and smiling at people on shore shortly after the boat set out Saturday night.
"She was a pleasant girl, a very, very sweet girl," she said. "She always smiled, always made you laugh."