Missing Woman’s Body Recovered In Marsh

Missing Woman’s Body Recovered In Marsh
Missing

SOUTH POINT — The Worcester County Sheriff’s Office announced late Tuesday the human remains discovered in a marshy area near South Point have been identified as Helen David, a local resident who went missing in the same area last Memorial Day weekend.

Around 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, a waterman working in the area of South Point discovered the mostly submerged and badly decomposed remains in a mosquito ditch in a marshy area. The waterman called 911 to report the discovery, and the Maryland State Police responded and confirmed a body in an extreme state of decomposition.

The Worcester County Bureau of Investigation (WCBI) and the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office also responded to the scene to begin the investigation and recovery efforts. The remains were collected and transported to Office of the State Medical Examiner for identification.

By Tuesday afternoon, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for the State of Maryland had identified the remains as Helen David, 77, who was last seen at her South Point residence on Carefree Lane last May 27. On Monday, the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office suspected the discovered remains might be those of David. The remains were clothed in woman’s apparel and were discovered in the same general area where David resided. In addition, the rate of decomposition of the remains was with consistent with the time frame of David’s disappearance.

According to a Sheriff’s Office release, David suffered from a form of dementia and had been known to wander off from time to time. The investigation into the cause and manner of her death is ongoing.

Shortly after midnight last May 28, the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office received a missing persons report on David from her son, who said she was last seen by family members around 3 p.m. the day before on May 27. In the days and weeks that followed, an extensive search was conducted on the South Point area and along the Route 611 corridor on the ground, by air and in the water and marshes to no avail. At the height of the search effort, local law enforcement agencies were assisted by the Civil Air Patrol and search and rescue teams from as far away as the western shore, and by an army of citizen volunteers who combed the woods and properties around South Point by flashlight, but months went by without the recovery of her remains.