Missing Philadelphia college student found dead in Bermuda moat

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Tuesday, March 20, 2018
Missing college student found dead in Bermuda moat
David Novarro has more on the missing college student found dead in Bermuda.

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania -- Police in Bermuda say they have found the body of a missing 19-year-old St. Joseph's University student.

Mark Dombroski was on the island for a rugby tour with the university. He was last seen at The Dog House bar at midnight.

He was due to leave Bermuda Sunday.

Bermuda police said Dombroski was found dead in a moat at Fort Prospect in Devonshire. The location is near police headquarters.

They said foul play was not yet ruled out, but they couldn't say at this time if the body bore any telltale signs of violence. But they also noted that the body had just been found, police said.

"Foul play is not ruled out right now," said James Howard, Bermuda's acting assistant commissioner of police. "The forensic officers are there. They're assessing the scene, assessing the body."

Dombroski was a graduate of Archmere Academy in Claymont, Delaware, and was a freshman at St. Joe's.

Dombroski's family rushed to the island to join the search and retrace his steps.

"We dearly love our son, we cherish our son. ... We want him back," his mother, Lisa Dombroski, said at a news conference with police officials. "We thank the citizens of Bermuda. People have been with us shoulder to shoulder throughout this ordeal."

Detective Sgt. Jason Smith said there's no evidence Dombroski was drunk, or that alcohol played a role in his disappearance.

Lisa Dombroski speculated her son, who had hurt his shoulder in a game that day and wasn't feeling well, had simply wanted to call it a night. She said the surveillance footage showed him favoring his arm.

"He wasn't in a celebratory kind of mood," Lisa Dombroski said. "He wanted to get back."


(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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