Body believed to be missing Brooklyn grandmother found atop building

BATH BEACH, Brooklyn (WABC) -- The desperate search for a missing 88-year-old Brooklyn woman ended tragically Tuesday after a body believed to be her was found on the roof of a nearby building.

Mary Joyce Bonsignore, who suffers from dementia, was last seen on her Bath Beach front porch before apparently wandering off.

Monsignor Michael Gelfant -- who helped organize the search effort and heads the congregation at St. Finbar Church, of which Bonsignore was a member -- says she was found dead on top of a building on Cropsey Avenue.

The NYPD confirms they found the body of an elderly woman just before noon who matches Bonsignore's description, but the identification will not be released until it is confirmed by the medical examiner. The autopsy will also determine the cause of death, but authorities say no criminality is suspected at this point.

It is not the building where Bonsignore lived, and authorities do not know if she has any connection to it.

Gelfant said more than 120 volunteers showed up on Sunday afternoon to look for Bonsignore, armed with fliers and determination. Volunteers scoured Bath Beach, Bensonhurst and parts of Bay Ridge.