Sue's Mon River Finds

 
 

August 30, 2006
I found human remains.

     As I was walking the shore around noon at Molnar's Marina, Bunola, PA,
looking for clam shells and seaweed I saw up ahead of me a few bones.
I figured they were probably from a deer, but as I got closer I knew they were not deer bones.
I knew they were human. I picked one up and saw it had a plate with screws and numbers on it.
As I looked around more I found the rest.
I came home and called the State Police. They said to call 911.
     So I called 911 and I got Washington County.
They took all my information and then they had to switch me over to 911 in Allegheny County.
They also took all my information and then they called Forward Township Police, Allegheny County.
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Note*** In May when the Authorities called off the search for Steve Berry,
the family asked for volunteers.
       Me and Bob Lombardi, and Jim & Brenda Lutz volunteered
to continue the search with our boats at Maxwell Pool.***

Jim & Brenda at Maxwell Pool. May 4th, 2006   The Berry family's camp on the shore at Maxwell Lock.

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Here are the newspaper articles...
Hold pointer over photo for info.

Sitting on the docks at Molnar's Marina, Bunola, PA are Gloria Molnar, Sue Molnar & Ralph Ianotti from KDKA TV.

Story & Video from KDKA TV
http://kdka.com/local/local_story_243085919.html 
<<Click Here

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http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/s_468568.html <<<Click Here

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

          Briefs: Bones found on banks of Monongahela River <<Click Here

                                     By staff and wire reports
                              Thursday, August 31, 2006

 
                                     The Allegheny County medical examiner is trying to identify human remains found Wednesday along the
                                     banks of the Monongahela River in Forward.

                                     Scattered bones were found about 2:30 p.m. On the riverbank near Molnar's Marina, off Bunola River Road,
                                     a township police officer said. The owner of the marina, Susan Molnar, was walking along the banks
                                     when she spotted the bones among river debris, police said.

                                     After the bones were gathered, Allegheny County homicide detectives used a cadaver dog, which
                                     found human remains in some clothing a short distance from the bones, a spokesman for the medical
                                     examiner said. County police Lt. Christopher Kearns said there was no immediate indication of foul play.

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clock Aug 30, 2006 11:55 PM US/Eastern

Human Remains Found Along Mon River

                      ( KDKA) FORWARD TWP. Bones found along the Monongahela River in Forward Township have been confirmed as being human.
                   Wednesday, a woman discovered what she described as a leg bone while searching the riverbank for shells near Molnar's Marina.
The bones were discovered near a pile of clothes which also contained human remains.

human bones found along Mon River (Photo from KDKA)

 The Medical Examiner's Office removed human bones and remains from the shore of the Mon River in Forward Township.
 KDKA

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Tribune-Review
Human remains are under investigation  <<<Click Here

                                       By The Tribune-Review
                                      Friday, September 1, 2006

 
                                      The Allegheny County Medical Examiner's office is trying to identify human remains found along the shore
                                      of the Monongahela River in Forward Township on Wednesday.

                                      Human bones were discovered by Susan Molnar, who was walking along the riverbank near her marina,
                                      Molnar's Marina, off Bunola River Road. Allegheny County homicide detectives and Forward police later
                                      combed the area using a cadaver dog and discovered more remains and clothing.

                                      Authorities have speculated the remains could be that of Washington County fisherman Steven Berry Jr.,
                                     35, of Amity, who is believed drowned after his 16-foot boat capsized April 22 near the Maxwell Lock and
                                     Dam near Brownsville, Fayette County. 

                                      The body of Berry's fishing companion, Trent Stupak, 40, of Washington, surfaced a week after the
                                      accident, but Berry was never found.

                                      A spokeswoman for the medical examiner's office declined to comment on the speculation. She said
                                     an official determination won't be available until dental records are compared, possibly sometime today.

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Body found on Mon could be that of missing angler <<<Click Here

Friday, September 01, 2006
By Jim McKinnon, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

                                     Authorities are closer to identifying the human remains found Wednesday afternoon along the
                                    Monongahela River bank in Forward.

                                     The Allegheny County medical examiner's office last night was reviewing medical and dental records.
                                     An investigator said that task should be completed by today.

                                     Speculation is that the remains could be those of Stephen Berry Jr., 35, of Amity, Washington County,
                                     who disappeared  with a fishing  buddy April 22 after they fell from their boat into the Mon in Fayette County.

                                     The body of one of the men, Trent A. Stupak, 40, of Washington, was recovered a week later, on April 29,
                                     downriver from the Maxwell Lock and Dam where the 16-foot boat had capsized.

                                     Cristy Berry, Mr. Berry's wife, has held out hope that her husband would be found. Until recently,
                                     she had kept an almost  daily vigil near the scene of his disappearance.

                                    Mrs. Berry, 34, declined comment yesterday, except to say that she and their two children, as well as
                                   other relatives and friends, are waiting on word from the medical examiner.

                                    At about 3:10 p.m. Wednesday, a woman who had been walking along the Monongahela River reported
                                   finding human bones along the east  bank, across from Allegheny Power Co.'s Mitchell Station and near
                                   the Molnar Marina off Molnar Road in Forward Township, the medical  examiner said.

                                   The medical examiner said today that a tentative identification had been made. Allegheny County police
                                   detectives,  one of the investigating agencies, found other evidence at the scene that could possibly identify
                                   the victim. A spokesman declined to detail the items found.

                                   After Mr. Stupak's boat capsized, search crews from neighboring fire departments and Washington,
                                  Westmoreland,  Fayette and Greene counties searched the river for about a week. Divers from the Army
                                  Corps of Engineers joined them six days after the accident.

                                  About a week after the boat capsized, divers found a trolling motor, a brand-new fishing reel and
                                 Mr. Berry's cell phone,  which still was operable.

                                  Mr. Stupak's body was found the next day.

                                 Wednesday marked the second time in a week that remains have been found in or near the
                                 Monongahela River.

                                 On Aug. 24, divers found the body of William Gardner, 32, about an hour after their search began
                                 near the fishing spot where Mr. Berry had fallen into the water. Mr. Gardner also had been fishing with
                                 friends when their boat stalled and he fell into the river.

                                 The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission ruled his death an accident.

                                 The commission also is investigating Mr. Berry's accident, along with Forward police, the Allegheny
                                 County Police Department and authorities in Fayette County.

                                (Jim McKinnon can be reached at jmckinnon@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1939. )

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Remains identified as boater  <<Click Here
Uniontown Herald Standard - Uniontown, PA, USA

                                       Stupak's body was recovered a week after the accident, but there was no sign of Berry until this past week.

                                       According to Forward Township Police Chief Tom Staley, a woman, Sue Molnar, who lives near the
                                       river was walking along  the shore Wednesday evening and discovered what appeared to be human
                                       bones.

                                      The Allegheny County detectives were called in, as well as the Allegheny County Medical Examiner's
                                       office cadaver dog, Saber.

                                       Saber's handler and forensic investigator Joe Angotti said the bones his 4-year-old Doberman
                                        pinscher found were definitely human.

                                       Although clothing and other items found with the bones indicated that the remains were those of the
                                       missing boater, a positive identification could not be made until dental records were obtained Friday.

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Men Missing After Boat Flips On Mon River

Officials Search For Victims

                                              POSTED: 9:51 am EDT April 24, 2006
                                     UPDATED: 2:37 PM EDT April 24, 2006

 

River Rescue teams from Clairton and Braddock are assisting local crews
in the search for two men still missing after a boating accident near the Maxwell Lock and Dam. 

                             Trent Stupak, 40, of Washington, Pa., and Steve Barry, 36, of Amity, were boating on the Monongahela River
                              in Fayette County on Saturday.

                             Officials said when they got too close to the dam, their 16-foot bass boat flipped over. The men have not been
                             seen since.

                             Luzerne Township Fire Chief Ryan Nicholas said, “They didn't find anything -- no articles of clothing, no articles
                             from the boat, no life vests, nothing."

                             Divers with the Luzerne Township volunteer fire department are planning to drop a scanning camera over a
                             lock wall, and into the water.

                                  Watch Channel 11 News and refresh this page for updates.

Copyright 2006 by Wpxi.com.

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