Shohola Falls death still under investigation

By Charles Reynolds
SHOHOLA FALLS — Three weeks after Gail Dews was found dead at the bottom of Shohola gorge, police still do not know what happened.

The county coroner's office told the Courier that the autopsy report is not complete because the case is still under investigation by law enforcement agencies.

Coroner Kevin Stroyan said Dews's death was the result of blunt force trauma consistent with a fall. But the official cause of death cannot be reported because of the ongoing investigation. The time of death will be difficult to establish because of the condition of the body, which was found on cold stone and in cold water.

Trooper Connie Devens, public affairs officer for the Pennsylvania State Police, said there is “no new information” on the investigation. She said she has not been in recent contact with the lead investigator but will make any new developments public as they happen.

For now, there's only speculation about Dews's death, which is being reported far and wide, from local papers and television news to the Daily Mail in England.

The Pike County emergency response system received the call that led them to Dews's body at 9:03 a.m. on March 11. Within minutes, state police and volunteer first responders rolled out to Route 6.

On a bridge overlooking Shohola Creek, downstream from Shohola Falls, rescuers began searching for the woman mentioned on the emergency call. When they looked over the side of the bridge, they found her sprawled 90 some feet below.

After nearly eight hours, workers recovered the body of Gail Dews, 56, from Wayne, N.J.

Early on, it was reported that the man who made the 911 call was taken into custody, questioned, and released. State police later denied these reports.

Investigators questioned Dews's husband, who had called the police to report her missing. The police stressed he was never in custody and always free to leave.

The police are labeling the death “suspicious” because of the way the body was discovered. The state police at Blooming Grove are asking anyone who was in the area of Shohola Falls between 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 10, and 8:30 a.m. on Monday, March 11, and who may have information about the incident, to call them at 570-226-5718.