Body found near Mantua Creek ruled a drowning

A 58-year-old man whose body was found on the bank of the Mantua Creek died in an accidental drowning, authorities said after an autopsy Monday.

The body of Theodore Smith III was found Sunday in Mantua, near the Route 45 overpass of the creek - half a mile from his home and close to the Telford Inn, where he had last been seen, the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office said.

Smith died by drowning, which was ruled accidental by the Gloucester County Medical Examiner after the autopsy.

When Smith left the Telford Inn in Mantua, he told an employee he was walking home, the prosecutor's office said. Smith's wife called police early Sunday morning when he had not returned home at 2 a.m. A Deptford Township police officer found Smith's body.

- Jonathan Lai