The Philadelphia Medical Examiner’s Office on Monday confirmed the identity of the drowning victim pulled from the Delaware River on Aug. 17 as the boy who went missing in the Pennypack Creek four days earlier. Sebastien Sanon, 15, of Wissinoming, died in an accidental drowning, said Jim Garrow, a spokesman for the Department of Public Health. Officers from the police Marine Unit found Sanon’s remains at about 8 a.m. on Aug. 17.
Sanon was last seen in the Pennypack Creek, which flows into the river, at about 5 p.m. on Aug. 13 after a heavy storm when he fell into the unusually deep and rapidly flowing waters, struck his head on a bridge abutment and sank below the surface.
Swimming is prohibited at all times in the creek, but many youths and often adults ignore signs posted along the banks and wade in the generally shallow stream. Thrill seekers often flock to the creek after storms in anticipation of a rising water level. ••
