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Shane Montgomery's keys found in the Schuylkill

Divers searching the Schuylkill for any trace of a missing West Chester University student found the 21-year-old's keys in the water near the riverbank Sunday, the student's uncle said.

Shane Montgomery missing poster in Manayunk.
Shane Montgomery missing poster in Manayunk.Read moreDavid Swanson / Staff Photographer

Divers searching the Schuylkill for any trace of a missing West Chester University student found the 21-year-old's keys in the water near the riverbank Sunday, the student's uncle said.

Shane Montgomery of Roxborough has been missing since early Thanksgiving Day. He was out with friends at Kildare's Irish Pub on Main Street in Manayunk and disappeared after leaving the bar.

Two weeks ago, police recovered video of Montgomery on a bridge crossing the Manayunk canal that leads to a parking lot. On Sunday, his keys were found in the river just south of that lot, said Kevin Verbrugghe, Montgomery's uncle.

Verbrugghe said he had enlisted the help of a group of volunteer divers from New Jersey, the Garden State Underwater Unit, who were in the water for four hours Sunday. Montgomery's relatives and Philadelphia police were on hand for the search, he said.

When the keys were found, Verbrugghe said, he confirmed they were his nephew's by trying one on Montgomery's front door. It was a match, he said.

He said Montgomery's family was exhausted but still praying for his safe return.