I-83 Driver Involved In Crash In Harrisburg Found Dead On Island In Lancaster Near 1 Year Later

Stephen Salazar had been involved in a crash in the northbound lanes of I-83 near the 2nd Street Exit on Dec. 23, 2021, at approximately 5:30 p.m., according to Lower Paxton Township police. 

The Township police issued a missing person alert on Dec. 29 at 6:45 p.m., but the 61-year-old was never heard from again. 

Salazar was described as a White man who was approximately 5'8" tall, heavy build, with black hair, but exactly 10 months and 15 minutes later the Lancaster County Coroner’s Office was called to the report of two kayakers finding "human skeletal remains" on Weise Island, in Conestoga Township, authorities say.

"Deputy coroners responded to the scene and worked alongside Pennsylvania State Police to process the scene," the release from the coroner's office states.

"Over the course of two days, multiple parts of human skeletal remains were retrieved in the area, and it was noted that the remains were that of an adult male," the coroner said.

The remains were taken to the Lancaster County Forensic Center for further examination and a forensic odontologist with the Lancaster County Coroner’s Office was consulted to help identify the remains. 

On Oct. 3, Salazar was confirmed to be the man the kayakers had found. 

"The Lancaster County Coroner’s Office ruled the cause of death as Fresh Water Drowning. The manner of death was Suicide," the coroner announced in the release. 

Additional details about how Salazar ended up in the water and how it was determined to be the result of suicide were not released. It also remains unclear if the car crash on I-83 was truly connected to his death. 

Salazar was predeceased by his parents Arminda C. Salazar, who passed at age 83 in 2016; Hugo Protacio Salazar Jr., who passed at 88 in 2011. He is survived by his sister Denise Salazar-Bell; aunts: Gladys Castro, Antonia Otero, Milagro Ritzer, Rosalinda D'Aquino, Isabel D'Agostino, and Gloria Fidler; and one uncle, Joseph Salazar, according to his parents' obituaries.

More information about Salazar's life was not readily available at the time of publication.

If you or someone you love is having suicidal though call or text the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 998 or go to the organization's website to chat with professionals who are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.  

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