Death of Red Lion teacher still remains a mystery

March 19, 2008

RED LION, YORK COUNTY -- The cause of 30-year-old Sara Yorty's death still remains a mystery.

To her loved ones, it's also a nightmare they haven't woken up from. Sara's roommate is still stunned by her death.

"We want some questions answered, and I think we understand there are a lot of things that can't be answered because none of us were actually there."

Friends and family had been searching for her since last weekend. Her body was found Tuesday near the Susquehanna River. The coroner says the teacher died of injuries, possibly from a fall.

Investigators are still trying to figure it all out.

Two construction workers found her body and car Tuesday on the shore of the Susquehanna River, just south of Three Mile Island. She was last seen Sunday when she told her parents she was going hiking.

When she didn't show up to work Monday morning, the Red Lion High School resource officer, Officer Marc Greenly of York Area Regional Police Department, began to search.

"It's a co-worker," Greenly said. "It would be like another police officer in trouble. I'd do just about anything to try to help and I wanted to see this through. I wanted to find Sara."

Yorty taught English and drama at the high school. Her friends say she loved literature and was working on her master's degree.

Dr. Frank Herron, superintendent of Red Lion Area School District, said she was a great teacher and educator.

"We're deeply saddened," Herron said. "This is a loss for us."

Sara's roommate said she wasn't aware of any troubles. She also doesn't believe Yorty had a boyfriend.

"It's sort of surreal," she said. "You see the car and her pictures on television, and yet you are thinking 'that is not her, not her.'"