Dive Team Solves 18-Year-Old Mystery of Local Man’s Disappearance in Ridley Township

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A volunteer diving team has brought closure to a Ridley Township family after James Amabile disappeared in 2003 without a trace, writes Jason Nark and Vinny Vella for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Adventures with Purpose used sonar equipment to locate a submerged Ford Explorer found Saturday in the murky waters of Darby Creek.

The Explorer and tags matched the entry on a missing person report from Dec. 4, 2003 for Amabile.

James’s brother, Stephen, said James, a Cardinal O’Hara graduate and a family man devoted to his two daughters, disappeared that day. The 38-year-old called the babysitter to say he was running late. He never showed up.

Ridley police confirmed human remains were in the vehicle.

Investigators have not identified the remains as being James Amabile, pending the Delaware County Medical Examiner’s report.

Steve Amabile believes his brother, who was diabetic, slipped into diabetic shock and drove into the creek after making a wrong turn. The family reached out to Adventures with Purpose, known for solving missing person cases involving bodies of water.

“No matter what anyone ever says, you’re not at peace until you get more answers,” Steve Amabile said.

Read more about James Amabile in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

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