Upper Makefield Chief of Police Tim Brewer ‘s Full Statement at Friday Nights Press
Thank you all for coming on such short notice, but we have some new developments in reference to our efforts to bring Mattie and Conrad home to their family. As you are all aware, a body of a child was found this evening in the Delaware River in the City of Philadelphia. We would like to provide you with the timeline of events as to the discovery of this body.
At 504pm, Philadelphia Police received a 911 call from an anonymous caller advising that they believed there was a body in the Delaware River. Apparently, the information from this caller was limited, including the exact location.
But, at 506pm, Philadelphia Police received a 911 call from a subject who provided a physical description, which was that of a child, and the location as being near the Philadelphia Waste Disposal Plant, located in the 3900 block of North Delaware Avenue. This location is south of the Betsy Ross Bridge.District Officer and the Philadelphia Marine Unit were immediately dispatched to the area. The child was located in debris against a pier in the area of the Waste Management Plant. The Philadelphia Marine Unit arrived at 529pm, were able to removed the child from the water, and transported the child to the Philadelphia Fire Department Paramedics who were waiting on shore.At 530pm, the child was pronounced deceased and was transported to the Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Office.
Based upon the physical description of the child and the clothing found on the child, we strongly believe that 2-year-old Mattie Sheils has been found pending further identification processes.We are so appreciative of the 911 callers who spotted Mattie and for the Philadelphia Police and Fire Departments all of whom helped us bring Mattie home.
This has been an extremely intense and emotional time for the family, for our first responders, and for the community and I know all our hearts are broken this evening.
Although Mattie was found 32 miles away from where we lost her, she has never been closer to all of our hearts than she is now. We ask that you please respect the privacy of the Sheils and Seley families as they process all that has happened to their families over these last 7 tumultuous days. We cannot begin to fathom the pain they are experiencing, but we will never leave their side as they deal with this tragedy.
Earlier, the Philadelphia Aviation Unit and a Philadelphia Marine Unit searched the Delaware River within their jurisdiction for Conrad.>During our operations, the Delaware River was monitored and agencies south of us were made aware. Tomorrow, we will continue the search for 9-month-old Conrad as we want to reunite him with his family and sister. We will deploy marine assets up and down the Delaware River as we continue our search operations with K9 teams and divers as we work tirelessly to ensure Conrad is found.We cannot thank the public enough for the outpouring of support, love, and concern they have shown for all the families and for all of us during these tragic events. Your words of encouragement, your offers to help, and all that you have expressed have never gone unheard and have touched us all.
We will not be taking any questions as we need to get ready for tomorrow’s search operations for Conrad. Updates will continue via social media and we will request a press conference should we have any significant developments.
——————————————————————————————————————————————————-If you are looking for more in depth coverage we strongly suggest we find your way over to NewtownPANow.com where I am sure Tom Sofield has everything you need in terms of coverage–JB
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