Body found in drainage ditch is identified

The body found last night in a drainage ditch in Cherry Hill was the remains of a 23-year-old man who committed suicide, authorities said.

The man, who lived in a housing development on Hillside Drive, had been missing for about six weeks, said Jason Laughlin, spokesman for the Camden County Prosecutor's Office.

A 15-year-old boy discovered the remains just after 7 p.m. yesterday, when he spotted a leg protruding from the drainage ditch in a wooded area near the Downs Farm Swim Club off Haddonfield-Berlin Road.

Laughlin did not release the man's name and would not comment on how he died.