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The Charlotte, North Carolina, teen whose body was found in a Boston suburb along a flight path almost certainly plummeted to the ground from a plane, say police investigators.
The mystery began last November 15th, when 16-year-old Delvonte Tisdale (pictured) was reported missing by his family members. At around 7 p.m. later in the evening, two Boeing 737-400 airliners took off from North Carolina's Charlotte Douglas International Airport en route to Boston's Logan Airport. In the Boston suburb of Milton, about two hours later, a group of college kids discovered a severely injured body. The corpse was later identified as Tisdale, and he was found along the plane's flight path.
An autopsy was performed on Tisdale, and the results revealed that there were no bullet wounds or knife punctures. The examiner did note, however, that Tisdale's injuries were consistent with someone who could have fallen from a considerable height. Police first suspected murder, but then it was quickly ruled out.
Investigators concluded that Tisdale was able to breach airport security, make it to the plane's wheel well and stowe away. They searched the two airlines that took off from Charlotte en route to Boston and discovered hand prints in the wheel well of one of the planes:
"As they looked at the grease, they saw what I describe as lateral impressions that showed there was someone in there. There was a hand print in an area where it ordinarily wouldn't be," said William R. Keating, Norfolk county district attorney at a press conference Friday.
How Tisdale managed to get through all of the airport red tape and make it on the plane without anyone seeing him has investigators scratching their heads:
"I don't pretend to tell you how he did it," Keating said. Investigators did mention that Tisdale happened to be an Air Force R.O.T.C. student.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), between 1996 and November of this year, there have have been 86 stowaways involving 76 flights, of which 68 were fatal and 18 survived. The wheel well is an area of the plane that is not pressurized and subject to a lack of oxygen and extremely cold temperatures well below zero.
When the Milton area was searched, police found the victim's Nike sneakers and some clothing, which the family identified as Tisdale's. They also found a plastic hotel key card, which was shattered into tiny pieces. "The altitudes were very high, and it gets very cold," Keating said. "That card was shattered into such tiny pieces that it was consistent with something that had been frozen and shattered."
Some residents near the area, where Tisdale's body was discovered, also reported hearing a loud thump at around 9:00 p.m.
Both federal and state authorities will continue to investigate the Tisdale case. There are still many unanswered security questions that has law enforcement and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) completely baffled.
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Source: http://www.bvblackspin.com/2010/12/13/police-suspect-n-c-teens-body-found-in-boston-may-have-fallen/
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