A man who allegedly jumped from a boat to go swimming in the Delaware River on Saturday remained missing early this week as searchers continued to probe the murky river for his body.
Philadelphia police described the subject of the search only as a 44-year-old man. He has not been declared dead. As a rule, the police department does not release the names of injured people who are not charged with a crime, a department spokeswoman said.
However, published news reports have identified him as Sidney Spence of the 4700 block of James St. in East Frankford.
According to Officer Christine O’Brien of the police department’s media relations unit, two men and a woman were in a boat on the river near the 8500 block of State Road shortly before 11 p.m. when the 44-year-old dove into the water for a swim.
The other boaters saw him struggling to swim, so the woman threw a flotation device to him, but he disappeared from view, O’Brien said. ••
