Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
The Bucks County Coroner’s Office identified the man who attempted to steal a boat and then drowned last week as he attempted to flee.
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In a Thursday night statement, Coroner Meredith Buck said the man who dove in the Delaware River in the the 6600 block of Radcliffe Street in Bristol Township last Tuesday and never came up has been identified as Sokhon Sam, 36, of Philadelphia. An autopsy was conducted earlier in the day.
Sam has been confirmed to be the theft suspect who went under the water and didn’t reappear until this remains were located along the banks of the river not far from where he went in, according to authorities.
Since the man’s disappearance last week, Bristol Township police, along with authorities from New Jersey and the U.S. Coast Guard, have searched the river. Boats and helicopters were deployed to scour the river in Bristol Borough and Bristol Township.
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Sam, whose identity was not known at first, was presumed by authorities to have drowned.
Buck said Sam’s cause of death was drowning, and the manner of death was determined to be accidental with no signs of trauma.
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“Our office extends its deepest condolences to the decedent’s family and friends during this difficult time,” Buck said.
The Philadelphia Police Department assisted Bucks County authorities with notifying Sam’s family.
Bristol Township officers were called last Tuesday evening after the man allegedly attempted to steal a pontoon boat anchored in the river. When confronted by the boat owner and nearby residents, the suspect jumped into the Delaware River just south of the I-95/Pennsylvania Turnpike bridge, police said.
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Despite the rescue efforts of the property owner and nearby residents, who used a flotation device to try and save him, the man went underwater and did not resurface.
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