Delaware River

DOVER, Del. - A paper found in a box of old books sold at auction is being hailed as a treasure of Delaware history. History buff and author Robert Barnes, who found the quill-written letter in crumbling pieces held together with adhesive tape, knew it was special when he spotted the unmistakable signature of John Hancock. Dated Dec. 30, 1776, and written from Baltimore, the letter beseeched the Delaware General Assembly "in the most urgent manner" to send soldiers and supplies to Gen. George Washington's headquarters before what became known as the Battle of Princeton.

James Frank Young, 85, of Radnor, a maritime lawyer and prominent figure in the Port of Philadelphia for many years, died Sunday, Jan. 6, at Bryn Mawr Hospital of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Mr. Young was a retired partner with the law firm Fox Rothschild L.L.P. in Philadelphia. His longtime specialty was admiralty law, governing vessel owners and shipping interests. He handled numerous high-profile marine disasters, including the Jan. 31, 1975, collision of the chemical tanker Edgar M. Queeny with the Liberian tanker Corinthos in Marcus Hook.

OFFICIALS SAY a man whose body was found on the edge of the Delaware River near Philadelphia accidentally drowned. The Delaware County medical examiner's office said this week that Francisco M. Basile Jr., 48, of East Longmeadow, Mass., died after he fell and hit his head. The man had been staying at an airport hotel along the river in Essington. His body was found Sunday floating near neighboring Governor Printz Park. - Associated Press

Tinicum Township police on Monday were investigating the suspicious death of a Massachusetts man whose body was found Sunday on an embankment of the Delaware River. The deceased has been identified as Frank Basile, 48, of East Longmeadow, Mass., police said. His body was found in Governor Printz Park in Essington by people visiting the park. According to police, Basile was supposed to be taking a flight out of Philadelphia International Airport on Friday, but that flight was canceled.

A 73-year-old Bensalem woman whose body was recovered Thursday from the Delaware River accidentally drowned, Bucks County Coroner Joseph Campbell said Friday. It was not immediately clear, he said, if alcohol was a contributing factor in the death of Jean Carson. Toxicology results will not be known for a month. Carson, a legal secretary, attended a Wednesday night Christmas party at a house on Haunted Lane in Bensalem. She was last seen smoking near the Neshaminy Creek, which runs behind the house and flows into the Delaware.

Authorities were searching for a man who jumped Friday afternoon from the Route 202 bridge just north of New Hope and Lambertville, N.J., into the Delaware River, an official said. The man, whose name was not available, jumped around 4:10 p.m., said Joe Donnelly, spokesman for the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission. Pennsylvania state police were investigating. A man died last month when he jumped from the bridge. - Robert Moran

Authorities were searching for a man who jumped Friday afternoon from the bridge just north of New Hope and Lambertville into the Delaware River, an official said. The man, whose name was not available, jumped from the bridge around 4:10 p.m., said Joe Donnelly, spokesman for the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission. The Pennsylvania State Police was investigating. A man died last month when he jumped from the bridge, which connects Route 202 between Solebury and Delaware Townships.

DESPITE A chronically painful left knee, psychic Valerie Morrison inched her way down a steep 10-foot embankment to the slippery, algae-covered rocks and broken chunks of concrete that emerge at low tide along the Bridesburg shore of the Delaware River, near the Betsy Ross Bridge. The longtime psychic, who used to advise Frank Sinatra, braved the treacherous footing using only a wooden broom handle for support, determined to visit the 19th century tombstones dumped along the shore during the '50s.

New Jersey State Police said they pulled the body of a woman from the Delaware River near the Burlington Bristol Bridge. The body was found as authorities in Pennsylvania and New Jersey were searching a missing Bensalem, Bucks County, woman. However, they say they have not yet positively identified the body. Police in Bensalem launched a search for Jen Carson, 73, who was last seen leaving a party at a home on Haunted Lane near Bristol Pike about 10 p.m. Wednesday. The home backs up to the Neshaminy Creek so police focused their efforts on the the creek, the surrounding woods and the Delaware River, where the creek empties.

Despite the opposition of environmental groups, a regional commission that oversees water issues in the Delaware River basin added its nod Wednesday to two major industrial projects in the region. It approved the expansion of Philadelphia International Airport, a $6.4 billion project that involves filling wetlands and a portion of the river, and the upgrade of a large power line that will cross the river at the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area in northeastern Pennsylvania.