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Body Found In Canal Identified As Missing Lambertville Woman


LAMBERTVILLE, N.J. (CBS) – Authorities have confirmed that the body pulled from the Delaware & Raritan Canal Wednesday afternoon has been identified as 39-year-old Sarah Majoras.

The answers so far in the death of 39-year-old Sarah Majoras don't make enough sense to her friend Joe Ujj.

"She doesn't walk the canal - we all now she doesn't walk the canal - no girl walks the canal at 2 in the morning," says Ujj.

But he says they are the answers that friends of the New Hope bartender will have to come to peace with.

She was last spotted on surveillance camera early Saturday morning on the New Hope-Lambertville bridge before vanishing. (see related story)

"It's still a hole, it's still a question, it's still a mystery and if that is going to remain the answer then we're going to have to deal with it," says Ujj.

Police found Majoras's boot at 2 p.m. Wednesday afternoon and her body three hours later.

The towpath along this stretch is about eight feet wide here with no railing. The canal is about 15 feet wide and eight feet deep.

That answers the when and what, but not how or why she fell into the freezing canal waters.

"There are certain question that we may never be able to answer and that's just a reality and what this looks like at this point is just a tragic accident," says prosecutor Anthony Kearns. "All of Sarah's personal property, including cash, identification, wallet, keys, and flashlight were in her possession. The official cause and manner of death from the medical examiner are pending toxicology results."

Twelve-and-a-half-years-ago David Anderson fell in and died along this same stretch of the canal. He was on his way to the home of Adam Baker, Sarah's long time boyfriend and the same place she was heading the night she died.

Investigators dismissed the link as coincidence.

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"We considered all those facts and processed all that. We've conducted interviews and we're satisfied that does not appear to be anything but a coincidence," says Kearns.

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"It's a tragedy and that's it. Everyone's behind Adam, we grew up with Adam. I've known him since I was 14," says Ujj.

He says if there is any consolation to be found, it's that Sarah Majoras's death was an accident, not a murder.

Investigators say they are still investigating and ask anyone with information to contact the Hunterdon County Prosecutor's Office at 908-284-6162.

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