Tornado may have revealed location of missing Pennsylvania woman, police say

A tornado may have revealed the location of a missing woman remembered as a beloved counselor for a Pennsylvania after-school program, officials said.

Cassandra “Casey” Johnston, 26, went missing July 10 after her family said said she never returned home from a trip to Philadelphia, according to the Lower Southampton Township Police Department. Lower Southampton is about 21 miles northeast of Philadelphia.

The Bucks County woman left a friend’s house that morning, WTXF reported, and surveillance video recorded her silver Ford Focus driving toward entrance ramps to Interstate 95.

But she remained missing for weeks as her family and friends desperately searched alongside police.

On Saturday, Kevin Ryan, a private investigator hired by the family, spotted Johnston’s car among trees while flying in a helicopter along the route she was believed to have taken, Lower Southampton Township Police Chief Ted Krimmel said at a news conference broadcast by WPVI.

After a day of searching, Johnston’s body was found about half a mile away from her car in a creek, he said.

Police had flown over Johnston’s route home at least twice without finding her car, but a tornado likely broke away tree branches and leaves, revealing the vehicle, Krimmel said. Two days before the private investigator searched by air, a tornado ripped through the area with 140 mph winds.

“I think it might have knocked some of the higher foliage loose and when Mr. Ryan’s helicopter got there, he could see what he thought was a silver piece of metal that turned out to be the car,” Krimmel said.

Johnston likely lost control of her car along a curve and went airborne over a guardrail before stopping about 50 yards from the road, Krimmel said. She was ejected through her sunroof and landed in a culvert, which washed her body away from the crash scene, Krimmel said.

Johnston worked for the Neshaminy Kids Club, a before- and after-school program for the Neshaminy School District, officials said. The organization remembered her as a “compassionate and remarkable educator” and students had voted her as a favorite counselor numerous times.

“Her voice could be heard from anywhere, and she was larger than life,” Neshaminy Kids Club posted on Facebook. “This was particularly true in the morning program, where she would greet the staff from across the parking lot. Miss Casey’s coworkers will always say she looked out for them and always provided that much needed coffee from Dunkin’ or Wawa.”

This story was originally published August 2, 2021 at 12:03 PM with the headline "Tornado may have revealed location of missing Pennsylvania woman, police say."