Woman's death ruled accidental

CAPE MAY COURT HOUSE, N.J. - Tracy Hottenstein of Conshohocken, who was discovered dead near Ludlam Bay on Feb. 15 after leaving friends at a Sea Isle City bar around closing time, died of hypothermia due to "exposure complicating acute alcohol intoxication," investigators said yesterday.

Her death has been ruled accidental, Charles Siebert, Cape May County's acting medical examiner, said at a news conference.

Investigators said they would continue to look into the circumstances that led Hottenstein, 35, to Sea Isle City Marina, where her body was found at 7:35 a.m.

Investigators called the news conference to ask for help in the death, which happened on Sea Isle's popular Polar Bear Plunge weekend. The Saturday-afternoon event, which includes revelry well into the night, drew thousands to the Shore town.

"Maybe this will jog someone's memory," said Cape May County Prosecutor Robert L. Taylor. "Maybe they saw or heard something that would be helpful in figuring this all out."

Taylor's office released a photograph of Hottenstein wearing the pink plaid hat and pink scarf she had on when she was last seen. The photo was taken by friends on a Sea Isle beachfront the day before she died.

Siebert said an autopsy revealed that Hottenstein had three cracked ribs, bruises, and contusions on her abdomen, arms, and legs - injuries consistent with a fall.

Neither Siebert nor investigators would theorize on how Hottenstein may have fallen. She suffered no major internal injuries and there was no evidence of sexual assault, officials said.

Authorities declined to reveal Hottenstein's blood-alcohol level, indicating only that it was "acute" and above the legal limit for driving.

They could not say precisely when or where she died. No water was in her lungs, Siebert said.

Hottenstein didn't participate in the Polar Bear Plunge but had gone to the Shore with friends and was staying with them nearby, officials said.

After leaving her purse, cell phone, and a down vest at the Ocean Drive Bar & Restaurant, where she had been drinking with friends, Hottenstein was last seen on surveillance video walking south on Landis Avenue at 2:15 a.m. on Sunday.

A fisherman later spotted her clothed body on a muddy bank at 42d Place at the Sea Isle City Marina.

The body appeared wet, as though it had been in the water. Investigators later found one of her Ugg boots and the hat she had been wearing floating in the water. The other boot and her scarf were never recovered.

Investigators said it appeared Hottenstein entered the water in the vicinity of the marina and then walked in her socks to where she was found.

What happened between when the vivacious pharmaceutical sales representative left the bar, known locally as the OD, and when her body was found has investigators baffled, Taylor said.

Authorities stopped short of calling Hottenstein's death suspicious.

"We're not ruling anything in and we're not ruling anything out," Taylor said. "We have not drawn any conclusions as to how this occurred, but her injuries appear to be consistent with a fall."

Taylor would not say whether the surveillance video showed Hottenstein leaving the bar with anyone.

Investigators from the Sea Isle City Police Department and the Cape May County Prosecutor's Office have conducted dozens and dozens of interviews, taken numerous sworn statements, and reviewed hours of video from multiple sources, including at the bar, he said.

Taylor declined to say whether yesterday's news conference was prompted by a notice filed Tuesday by a lawyer representing Hottenstein's family, reserving the right to file a wrongful-death lawsuit against Sea Isle City and its police department for $10 million.

In the notice, Philadelphia lawyer Lynanne Wescott contended that the Sea Isle City police failed to properly patrol the area near the bay that morning. There is an emphasis on drinking at the Polar Bear Plunge festivities, which she said should be better policed.

The notice also alleged that Sea Isle was negligent because its city-owned docks are hazardous and unsafe.

Hottenstein's parents "are still very much in shock over this," Wescott said yesterday. "There are still lots of questions about what happened to Tracy."

Wescott said her clients were a "long time away" from filing a lawsuit but want to continue to prod investigators.

"There is no reason for Tracy to have been at that marina by herself in the middle of the night," Wescott said. "Did someone take her there? Did someone leave her there? There are still an awful lot of questions."

A Cape May County victim's rights advocate filed a request yesterday with the state Attorney General's Office to have the case - and four other unsolved killings in the county that involve young women - investigated by law enforcement outside Cape May County.

Cape May County investigators have a 20-year history of botching investigations involving the murders of young women, advocate Teresa Downey of Sea Isle City said.

"I think this case and all the cases need to be investigated by an independent panel," Downey said.

Anyone with information about the case or who saw Hottenstein after 2:15 a.m. on Feb. 15, 2009, is asked to contact the Cape May County Prosecutor's Office at 609-465-1135 or Sea Isle City Police at 609-263-4311.