GOFFSTOWN, NH – Goffstown Police seek the public’s help in connection with a case involving a Manchester woman whose body was pulled from the Piscataquog River on Aug. 30, 2015.
Police have released a photograph of the boat in which Jennifer Zell, 35, of Manchester, was last seen. The boat was recovered from the Namaske Lake section of the Piscataquog River on Aug. 30.
A New Hampshire Fish and Game Department dive team recovered Zell’s body at 10:54 a.m. on Sunday Aug. 30, which was found in approximately 10-12 feet of water, about 250 feet from the northeast shore of the river that runs along Riverview Park Road.
On Saturday evening, Goffstown Police responded to the area at approximately 11 p.m. in response to a complaint about loud noise coming from a boat on the river. Once at the scene, police became aware that two adult males on a boat were searching for a female passenger who entered the water and disappeared below the surface. Attempts by the men to locate the woman in the water proved unsuccessful.
Personnel from Goffstown Fire Department and New Hampshire Marine Patrol responded immediately to the scene and deployed boats to conduct a surface search and shoreline search of the area. New Hampshire State Police and New Hampshire Conservation Officers also responded to the scene.
Search and rescue efforts for Zell continued into the early hours of Sunday morning.
Sunday’s recovery mission included Conservation Officers from New Hampshire Fish and Game, New Hampshire Marine Patrol Officers, State Troopers and the New Hampshire State Police Helicopter, along with personnel from the Goffstown Police and Fire Departments. A representative from the State’s Medical Examiner’s Office also responded and an autopsy was scheduled Aug. 31.
According to Conservation Officer Lieutenant James Juneau, preliminary information suggests that alcohol may have been a contributing factor in this incident.
Zell was the mother of three sons. You can read her obituary here.
Anyone on or around the river during the late evening to early morning hours of August 29-30 who may have seen or heard anything unusual, or out of the ordinary in or on the water should call the Officer Pinard at the Goffstown Police Department at 497-4858.
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