Sources say woman who died at Shore did not drown

On Feb. 15, hundreds of revelers, some in costumes and others in far less, capped off their weekend by charging across the beaches of Sea Isle City and into the icy waters of the Atlantic Ocean.

Just a few blocks away, though, near a marina that sits beneath a bridge into the resort town, authorities were already investigating the mysterious death of Tracy Hottenstein, a Conshohocken woman whose body was found on the banks of a back bay earlier that morning.

Sources tell the Daily News that Hottenstein, 35, did not drown that morning, but the Cape May County Prosecutor's Office will not release an official cause and manner of death until toxicology results come back.

"It's an ongoing investigation. I've been saying that consistently," Cape May County Prosecutor Robert Taylor said during a brief interview. "Right now, there's really nothing more I can say."

Hottenstein, a pharmaceutical-sales specialist and avid runner, was in Sea Isle City that weekend with friends for the annual Polar Bear Plunge, a charity event that packs the city's beaches and bars with swimmers willing to brave a dip into the icy ocean.

Surveillance cameras showed her leaving the Ocean Drive bar on Landis Avenue around 2:15 a.m. on Feb. 15.

A passer-by found Hottenstein about six hours later, still dressed in the pink-plaid hat, pink scarf, black vest, jeans and tan Ugg boots she had on the night before. New Jersey State Police divers searched the surrounding waters in the days that followed and found evidence, but Taylor would not elaborate on what that evidence was.

Hottenstein's father, Charles, declined to comment on his daughter's death and other family members did not return phone calls for comment.

One Sea Isle City resident, however, said she doesn't understand why authorities won't categorize Hottenstein's death as suspicious.

"Ít is not normal for women's bodies to be found like this," said Teresa Downey, a self-described women's advocate long critical of how the Cape May County Prosecutor's Office handles cases involving women. "In and of itself, it's suspicious."

Taylor said he was aware of Downey's concerns but still declined to label Hottenstein's death.

"I haven't categorized it and I won't categorize it," he said.

Sea Isle City Mayor Len Desiderio, who owns a bar in town, referred calls to Police Chief Thomas D'Intino, who didn't return a call for comment. The owner of the Ocean Drive also did not return phone calls for comment.

No reward has been offered in the case, but more than 350 people have joined the Facebook group "What happened to Tracy Hottenstein in Sea Isle City. NJ, 2/15/09?"

Anyone with information about Tracy Hottenstein's death is asked to call the Cape May County Prosecutor's Office at 609-465-1135 or Sea Isle City police at 609-263-4311. *