Sheriff Identifies body found in the river
By Kevin E. Foley
A dead body found in the Hudson River near Constitution Island on Aug. 16 has been identified by the Putnam County sheriff as Joseph D. Corcoran, 39 years old and a resident of Brooklyn, New York. Sheriff Donald B. Smith’s office also acknowledged that Corcoran had left behind personal belongings and a suicide note on Sandy Beach on the river at Little Stony Point, just north of Cold Spring on Aug. 12. Police from several departments conducted a wide search of Little Stony Point and surrounding areas for the victim as first reported on Philipstown.info. Constitution Island is approximately a mile south of Sandy Beach off the east bank of the river. The sheriff’s office said that the New York City Police Department had received a missing person report about Corcoran at around the same time his body was discovered in the river by a kayaker. The positive identification was made through an expert review of dental records, according to the sheriff’s office, which credited the New York State Police with assistance.
Obituary published before body found
Although the sheriff reports finding the then unidentified body on Aug. 16, a paid obituary in the New York Times for a Joseph D. Corcoran, Brooklyn New York, listing him as the same age as the Little Stony Point victim, was published on Aug. 14. The obituary states Corcoran “Left this life as he lived his life: on his own terms.” The date for Corcoran’s death listed in the obituary is Aug. 8. The Sheriff’s office could not be reached for comment on this apparent discrepancy. The Sheriff asks anyone with information about this case to call the office at 845-225-4300.
Photo by K.Foley
