SOUTH BETHANY, Del. - According to the South Beach Police Department, the body found in the South Bethany canal shortly before 6 p.m. Friday belongs to Linda Lee Bravo. Police say her car went down the boat ramp at the end of York Road just before 1 a.m. on June 14th.
Bravo's body was identified Saturday morning and South Bethany Police Chief Jason Lovins says Bravo's Mercedes was pulled out from the canal near the same spot.
"We really focused the search again today utilizing the Delaware State Police Dive Team," says Chief Lovins. "They were able to locate her vehicle."
South Bethany Police were assisted by the Bethany Beach Police, Ocean View Police, Delaware State Police and the Bethany Fire & Rescue units on the recovery of Bravo's body from the canal. Captain Darin Cathell of the Bethany Beach Police Department--the agency handling Bravo's missing persons case--says Bravo's body was likely in the car until Friday afternoon and possibly came out through an open window.
Cathell says the Bethany Beach Police Department tracked Bravo's cellphone and used traffic cameras to review the area she appeared to be in.
"We did have her on camera right here at (route) 1 and 26 heading northbound on the 14th at 12:25 a.m. We have her heading back southbound at about 12:45. We catch her on another business camera just south of here and then we utilized her cellphone to track her last form of communication between her cellphone and the tower, which is located in South Bethany and we have determined that she was about a half mile southeast of that tower in South Bethany. The last form of communication we have is at 12:57 a.m. on the 14th," he says.
Cathell says police are assuming that Bravo was lost and trying to get home. Police don't suspect any foul play and Bravo doesn't have any medical history that would lead them to believe the cause was anything other than an accident.
The South Bethany Police Department is conducting a death investigation with the assistance of the Delaware State Police CRU, Troop 4 Detectives and the Bethany Beach Police. According to the South Bethany Police Department, Bravo's death has been ruled as an accidental drowning.
The incident remains under investigation.