Police are trying to figure out what happened to a Middletown High School graduate who was found face down in a pool of water 30 years ago.
Lisa Berry, an honor student headed to Amherst College on a scholarship, disappeared July 31, 1985 – 30 years ago today. Her death remains shrouded in mystery.
Berry, a varsity cross country runner, left her home on Braeburn Lane in Middletown around 5:30 p.m. and told her mother she'd be home for dinner an hour later. She never returned.
Police said Berry stopped and talked with several people while running. Her route took her from Highlands Crescent to Westlake Drive, which, at the time, comprised a few condominiums carved into the woods. A new condo complex was under construction.
Firefighters searching for Berry found her body the next day near a running path, face down in 4 feet of water in a hole drilled for percolation testing. The state medical examiner said Berry died of asphyxia by submersion.
Police are working with the assistant state's attorney and the state forensic laboratory to figure out what happened to Berry. They're interested in speaking to anyone who remembers her and may have seen her the day she died.
Authorities are asking anyone with information to call the Middletown Police Department at 860-638-4000 or the Lisa Berry tip line at 860-638-4146.
