Body found in Souhegan River

State Fish and Game officers searching for the body of a Merrimack woman who was swept away at Wildcat Falls on Tuesday located the body of an adult female Saturday.

Merrimack police Sgt. Brian Levesque said the body was found about a half mile downstream of the falls. Fish and Game had been conducting a daily search since Tuesday, when Susan Bonitatibus, 48, became caught in the swift current and never resurfaced.

According to a police press release, Fish and Game officers Scott Lacrosse and Alex Lopashanski were searching along the riverbanks when they discovered the body around 5 p.m.

The body will be identified through an autopsy by the state medical examiner’s office within the next few days, said Levesque.

Emergency officials searched for Bonitatibus until dusk Tuesday and then Fish and Game continued Wednesday, combing the Souhegan River banks from the Merrimack Village Dam upstream to the falls. On Thursday, Lt. John Whitmore and Bonitatibus’ relatives continued the search, from Merrill’s Marauders Bridge up to the falls. Search efforts in the water were hampered by high water levels.

Bonitatibus, who lived at 12 Edward Lane, was swimming beneath the falls with a friend around 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday when the current swept her down the river.

NASHUA