On Friday, September 25, myself, James Droskoski, along with two friends, Charles Vaccaro and Wayne Ciolino, had taken Charles' boat, the Trade Wins, from Port Washington Harbor to go to the Norwalk boat show. As I was driving near buoy #32 outside of Stamford Harbor, I spotted what was clearly a person floating on their back which cause me to veer out of the way to avoid. My first reaction was that she was a swimmer which seemed odd being that we were very far from shore and there were no other boats in sight. Wayne had also seen the body but had a different immediate reaction of shrieking in horror. I immediately turned the boat around to see if it were indeed a swimmer that needed help. Unfortunately as we got close, it was very clear that this person was not alive and we could not believe what we were seeing. We circled several times to make sure we weren't seeing a mannequin or some sort of fake person-doll. We then radioed the USCG on channel 16 and alerted them of our position and that we believe we had just found a dead female body. First a 2 man USCG auxiliary boat approached and went straight to the body. They confirmed that there was a female "floater" and radioed the confirmation in. Next Stamford Police arrived as well. Then another USCG larger boat. Eventually we were released and the authorities continued their investigation.
For me, the only comfort I could find in such a bizarre and horrible situation was that we had just found someone's daughter, possible mother, wife, friend, etc and at least now she could be brought home to her loved ones and friends. To my knowledge, the authorities still do not know who she is or have any idea what happened. I am hoping that maybe there is some slight chance that by sharing this story in every way that I can, someone might know some information that could help identify this woman. Below are links to the news stories and contact info if you have any information.
The woman was white and in her mid-40s. She had dark hair and wore a white T-shirt with black shorts. The shirt had the word "Love" written across it in red-and-blue letters and featured a peace symbol. On her right ring finger was a ring in a butterfly design, police said.
Anyone with information on the identity of the woman whose body was found Friday should call the Detective Bureau of the Stamford Police Department at (203) 977-4417.
Regards,
James Droskoski
