Cold Case Cracked After 20 Years In Bucks County

BENSALEM TOWNSHIP, PA —It took 20 years. But the body of a man discovered on the banks of the Delaware River in 2003 has now been identified.

The Bensalem Township Police Department thanked the non-profit Cold Case Initiative for their assistance in identifying the body of Edward Anthony Nece.

On Oct. 19, 2003, two fishermen discovered the body of a white man in a drainage area on the Yellow Freight property located at 2627 State Rd., police said.

The man had no identification, and his description did not match any reports of missing persons in the area, police said.

An autopsy was performed, and it was determined that there was no trauma to the body and that the cause of death was drowning. The manner of death could not be determined, police said.

Partial fingerprints were obtained but did not match any known fingerprints in the national database, and samples for DNA comparison were obtained.

The unidentified man was buried in the Doylestown Cemetery while attempts to identify him continued.

Bensalem Police compared the unknown man to numerous missing person reports over the next 19 years without success.

In December 2022, Bensalem Police obtained hair samples from the Bucks County Coroner's Office that were collected at autopsy.

Those hair samples were sent to a private laboratory where a DNA profile was obtained.

The non-profit agency Cold Case Initiative got involved and funded an investigative genetic genealogy search of public DNA databases by a genealogist.

The search and subsequent investigation led investigators to speak with Edward Nece from Riverside, N.J.

On Oct. 19, 2023, exactly 20 years after the body was discovered, Nece told investigators that his son, Edward Anthony Nece, hadn't been heard from for 20 years.

He provided a DNA sample that was then compared to the DNA recovered from the unknown man, police said.

The DNA match confirmed that the unidentified male was Nece's son.

"We would like to recognize the diligent effort of Bensalem Township Police Department detectives and the Cold Case Initiative partnership," police said. "Without their assistance, the family of Edward Anthony Nece would still be wondering what happened to their loved one.

Cold Case Initiative is a nonprofit that assists agencies with funding to solve cold cases, violent crimes, missing persons, and unidentified decedents utilizing investigative genetic genealogy services. Click here to learn more about the Cold Case Initiative.