The Herald, Sharon, Pa.

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July 15, 2012

Boy's body found in river

Family deals with tragedy

By Courtney L. Saylor The Herald

SHENANGO VALLEY — The body of a Sharon boy missing since Thursday was found Saturday morning in the Shenango River in Farrell.

The tragic end to the two-state search for Mark Goodrich Jr., 12, shook his large family, his mother Sheila Goodrich said.

“I’m sorry that my baby won’t see his next birthday … We’re still going to celebrate it because he’s still in our hearts. He’ll always be in our hearts,” Goodrich said.

She was trying to be strong Saturday afternoon for her other children, Myeisha, 15, and Miles, 10, who were very close with Mark, who would have turned 13 in November.

Goodrich said she was “holding up as best as I can” and noted the idea Mark Jr. would never come home hit the whole family hard.

Mark went missing Thursday and authorities searched the river until after dark Friday after police were told he was swimming with other boys near an old railroad trestle in Brookfield that’s a popular spot for youngsters to hang out.

Sharon police Chief Mike Menster said rescue workers were getting ready to resume the search of the river Saturday when someone called Mercer County 911 at 8:35 a.m. after spotting the boy’s body in the river near NLMK Steel.

Police identified the body as Mark’s, Menster said, and an autopsy will be performed today in Erie to determine how he died and when.

Goodrich said she had a bad feeling while they looked for her son, who was last seen by his father Mark when he left his King Street on his brother’s bicycle at 10 a.m. Thursday.

Mark Jr. was supposed to be heading for his mother’s home on Ravine Place.

Menster said Mark Jr. was found further south from the area that local police, fire departments with boats and dive teams as well as K-9 teams scoured Friday.

Police are still investigating what led to the boy’s death and Menster refused to comment on claims that Mark Jr. was pushed from the bridge or beaten.

“There are a lot of rumors flying around,” Menster said.

Menster said police received information Friday that Mark Jr. had been swimming with friends at the old railroad bridge.

He said there were “probably quite a few kids down there Thursday when we believe this happened” and police are talking to anyone who was there.

Goodrich said as far as she knew her son had never been to the bridge and she’d told him not to go there.

“We believe friends forced him to go,” she said.

She said her son knew how to swim and liked doing so in pools or at the dam but she said he never went out very far and stuck close to the shore.

He likely wouldn’t have been able to swim well in the river, Goodrich said.

“He knew how deep the water was,” she said.

Mark Jr. just finished 6th grade at C.M. Musser Elementary and was excited about moving up to the high school in the fall, his mother said.

“He was just a fun-loving kid,” Goodrich said.

He loved to draw, read, ride his bike and play basketball, soccer and video games, she said.

“Anybody would’ve loved being his friend,” Goodrich said, noting how respectful her son was toward others.

“He always said ‘Yes, ma’am, no ma’am’ and ‘yes, sir, no, sir,’ she said.

Southwest Mercer County Regional police, which covers Farrell, did not release any information about the case Saturday and the Mercer County Coroner’s office and Farrell Fire Department referred all questions to Southwest police.

Menster said anyone with information related to Mark’s death should call the Mercer County 911 non-emergency line at 724-662-6110.

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