Investigators from the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office were combing the treacherous steep cliffs of the Weehawken Palisades last week after the remains of two people were discovered only a few blocks from each other. The first body was spotted last Sunday when a rock climber, repelling his way down the cliffs, stumbled across the badly-decomposed body of what is believed to be a woman. She was found below Boulevard East near the intersection of Pershing Road and 48th Street. The second body was discovered two days later in the same general vicinity but a few blocks north, in the wooded area below Boulevard East near 50th Street. The second discovery was purely skeletal and portions of the human remains were somewhat scattered throughout the location. The gender of the second person was not officially determined, but is initially believed to be a male. Hudson County Deputy First Assistant Prosecutor Edward DeFazio said he believes the two cases are not related. “At this point, they do not appear to be related,” DeFazio said. “Both remains have been secured for forensic testing to determine how long they were there. Preliminary reports are that the woman was more recent and the second one was there for a lengthy period of time: months, possibly years. It’s a minimum of a few months, but it could be years. But we can’t get any precision on time yet until the reports come back.” DeFazio said that it is too early in the investigation to believe whether or not these were murder cases or what exactly was the cause of death. “They both were there for a while,” DeFazio said. “They both could have very well died naturally or by accident. We haven’t received any reports of missing people that fit any descriptions.” All the collected remains were brought to the state medical examiner’s office in Newark for further forensic testing and evaluation. The area inside the Palisades has been known to be a spot where homeless people camp out to avoid getting spotted. Sometimes, the inhabitants of the rugged wooded area are illegal immigrants who are trying to avoid deportation. There is a chance that both victims could be part of the infiltration of illegal immigrants who have been living in the Palisades. “There could be a correlation between the homeless that have been living there,” DeFazio said. “That can’t be discounted. It’s a distinct possibility that these people could have been with the illegals, because they were never reported missing. We can’t rule out anything yet.” Because of the two findings, investigators were combing the cliffs Wednesday and Thursday, either looking for more evidence or possibly more remains. “I still believe it was a strange coincidence that we stumbled across two bodies,” DeFazio said. “The investigators were continuing the search. How long it will continue is not known. But we’re making a concerted effort.”
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