Bucks woman's death called accidental drowning

A 73-year-old Bensalem woman whose body was recovered Thursday from the Delaware River accidentally drowned, Bucks County Coroner Joseph Campbell said Friday.

It was not immediately clear, he said, if alcohol was a contributing factor in the death of Jean Carson. Toxicology results will not be known for a month.

Carson, a legal secretary, attended a Wednesday night Christmas party at a house on Haunted Lane in Bensalem. She was last seen smoking near the Neshaminy Creek, which runs behind the house and flows into the Delaware. - Michael Matza