NYPD Investigating Whether Body Found Near Verrazano Bridge Was NYC Marathon Runner
April 30, 2019, 10:30 a.m.
No runners were reported missing after the New York City marathon, but the body was dressed in leggings and wrapped in a heat blanket.
The Verrazano Bridge.
MTA workers found the remains of a body outfitted in running gear under the Verrazzano Bridge in Brooklyn this weekend, reportedly raising a possible connection with the New York City marathon in November.
According to the NYPD, workers with the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority were clearing up a wooded area near Fort Hill Place and Dahlgren place in Bay Ridge at 8 a.m. on Saturday, when they found a body dressed in leggings and wrapped in a silver foil blanket.
The remains have not yet been identified, although police said the Medical Examiner is looking into the cause of death. According to CBS New York, though, police suspect possible involvement with the New York City marathon, which begins on the Staten Island side of the Verrazzano and runs through Bay Ridge.
Runners are given foil heat blankets at the finish line in Central Park. But although the race concluded six months ago far from Staten Island, and no participants have been reported missing in the interim, an NYPD spokesperson told amNY, "I wouldn't rule anything out."
The body did not have the mandatory marathon bib with a number or an electronic tracking tag. The NYPD told amNY the body's deterioration suggested it had only be outside for one winter.
Shortly after police responded to the call at the Verrazzano, the NYPD Harbor Unit pulled a body from the water on the Manhattan side of the Brooklyn Bridge. The deceased—reportedly a man in his 50s—was fully clothed but was not carrying identification, although the remains showed no sign of trauma. The incident does not appear related to the body found in Bay Ridge, and investigators are working to identify the corpse.
