MUHLENBERG TWP., Pa - The Berks County coroner's office has identified the man whose body was pulled from a quarry in Berks County after a nearly 24-hour search.
The body of Joshua Fontanez-Rodriguez, 23, of Minersville, Schuylkill County, was recovered Saturday afternoon by divers at the quarry in Muhlenberg Township, according to the coroner.
Fontanez-Rodriguez was the suspect being sought in a shoplifting attempt incident at the nearby Target store late Friday morning, according to the police, who said that he fled and made his way into the quarry before he ended up in the water.
"No one's supposed to be back there without authorization. It is fenced in," said Chief William Heim, Muhlenberg Township Police Department. "There is barbed wire. There's signs posted all over, so anybody in the general public that would go there would know that they aren't supposed to go there."
One of the challenges for divers searching a quarry is the varying depths they encounter while beneath the water's surface.
Due to darkness and cold weather, the search was called off Friday night and resumed around 8 a.m. Saturday.
