Police are investigating whether the woman found dead in the Schuylkill River sleepwalked her way to drowning, her priest, her family and the Montgomery County Coroner told the Inquirer.
The body of 72-year-old Catherine Kelly of Conshohocken was found in the water Wednesday, police say. She suffered from narcolepsy, a condition in which a person falls into a deep sleep without warning, reports the Inquirer.
Police responded to the Whitemarsh Boat Club Wednesday morning after Kelly's body was found in the Schuylkill River there.
A documentary film crew spotted the body in the water at about 11:20 a.m. while shooting near the river and alerted police, authorities say.
Police say that the body was first spotted while it was moving with the current of the river. It came to rest against the shore in the 800-block of Washington Avenue in front of the boat club.
Kelly, who was found wearing a black top, black shorts, New Balance sneakers and a miraculous medal, was reported missing by her children after she didn't show up at daily Mass Wednesday. Kelly attended Mass every day, police say.
Police say the cause of death is drowning. Because her car was still parked at her home on Spring Mill Avenue in Conshohocken, police believe she walked there.
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Police say Kelly was not in the water for more than two to three hours.
