Body of East Stroudsburg woman found in Dingman Township

By Frances Ruth Harris
DINGMAN TOWNSHIP — The body of a 52-year-old East Stroudsburg woman was found near the Delaware River in Dingman Township on Dec. 27.
Sonya M. Datesman went missing on Sunday, Dec. 23. Her husband of 29 years, Kurt Datesman, told the Courier that his wife suffered from depression. Her funeral is scheduled for 2 to 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 2, at the Clark Funeral Home in Stroudsburg, he said.
Sonya Datesman's body was discovered in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. Since the National Park Service, which manages the area, is on furlough because of the federal government shutdown, which began on Dec. 22, an all-volunteer crew conducted the search. They found Datesman's body between Route 209 and the river.
Kurt Datesman said on Saturday that the case is still pending from Pike County coroner. She was found wearing the same clothing she wore when she left her home at 177 Spring Street in East Stroudsburg five days earlier, he said.
According to the obituary posted by funeral home, Sonya Datesman was born in East Stroudsburg and was a lifelong resident of Monroe County. She attended Penn State University and graduated from East Stroudsburg University.
"In her early years, she worked for Jack’s Market and since 1984 was a cashier at ShopRite in Stroudsburg," her obituary states. "She was a member of Christ Hamilton United Lutheran Church, where she helped serve community dinners. Sonya also helped with the soup kitchen ministry at Stroudsburg Methodist Church and dinners for Bridges Out of Poverty. Sonya played the flute and piano, and it was a holiday tradition to play holiday songs with her niece and nephew. She also enjoyed knitting, crocheting, baking and cooking. She enjoyed helping and taking care of others, especially older people; and spent much time keeping her next door neighbor company."