Still no ID on body found in Souhegan

MERRIMACK – The state needs more time to identify the body of a woman found in the Souhegan River over the weekend.

The office of the state Chief Medical Examiner didn’t receive the dental records needed to identify the body and thus need to use other methods, chief forensic investigator Kim Fallon said. Identification could occur as early as today but could also take more time, she said.

New Hampshire Fish and Game officers searching the riverbanks Saturday found the body of a woman a half-mile downstream from Wildcat Falls, a popular but sometimes dangerous swimming spot.

Officials and family members spent four days looking for 48-year-old Susan Bonitatibus, a Merrimack resident who was cooling off in Wildcat Falls on the afternoon of July 29 when strong currents took her under.

The cause and manner of death is also pending, Fallon said. Officials have sent blood to the state’s lab for toxicology testing.

The examiner issues a final cause of death. That could take weeks, Fallon said.