Teen found dead in Monongahela River

By Christine Haines

chaines@yourmvi.com

The body of a 15-year-old Jefferson Hills resident who had been missing since Nov. 21 was found Friday after an extensive search.

Elizabeth Borough police Chief William Sombo said Jeno Moretti’s body was discovered in the Monongahela River shortly before 6 p.m. 

“We had been out since 8 a.m.,” Sombo said. 

The body was located about 440 feet downriver from the Elizabeth Bridge mid-channel, Sombo said. Surveillance video from a nearby sewage treatment plant had shown Moretti on the stairs to the bridge in the early morning hours of Nov. 22, and family members say a text message was sent from his telephone around that same time. The phone later went dead, and Moretti was not seen on video leaving the bridge.

Sombo said the area where Moretti’s body was found had been searched several times over the past week and a half. The discovery Friday was made by specialized search teams brought in to assist with the efforts, Sombo said. 

“It was the Charles County, Md., Search and Rescue and Christian Aid Ministries,” he said.

Christian Aid Ministries operates nationwide, with specialized search teams in 10 states. The team that assisted Friday came from Mercer County. 

“We didn’t realize there was one so close,” he said of the Christian Aid Ministries.

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