Penn. college student’s drowning death ruled accidental

The death of Shane Montgomery, a college student whose body was found Saturday in the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia after five weeks of searching, has been ruled accidental, a newspaper reported on Sunday.

The Philadelphia Inquirer quoted an uncle of the victim as saying the Medical Examiner’s Office had ruled his death to be accidental drowning.

Kevin Verbrugghe said the body had been released to the family for burial and that a funeral Mass is scheduled Friday at a church in the Manayunk neighborhood of the city, the Inquirer reported.

Neither Verbrugghe nor the Medical Examiner’s Office spokesman could be reached for comment Sunday afternoon.

Montgomery, a 21-year-old student at West Chester University in suburban Philadelphia, vanished on the night of Nov. 26 after he was ejected from Kildare’s Irish Pub in Manayunk, where he had been drinking with friends.

His disappearance touched the city and led to an outpouring of support for his family.

Divers found the young man’s car keys in the Schuylkill River on Dec. 21.

On Saturday, his body was found a half-mile downstream from Kildare’s. It was about 10 feet from shore in 3-4 feet of water, the Inquirer reported.