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Crime & Safety

UPDATE: No Foul Play Suspected in Death of Woman at Maxwell Bridge

61-year-old Napa resident had history of suicide attempts, police said.

CORRECTION: Napa Police Lt. Debbie Peecook's name was misspelled in an update on Monday. It has been corrected below.

UPDATE: 2 p.m. Monday, April 8, 2013.

Leanne Crowley Reyff, whose body was found Friday under the Maxwell Bridge in Napa, had a history of suicide attempts, said Napa County Sheriff's Capt. Tracey Stuart.

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Stuart declined to offer further details pending the completion of the ongoing investigation.

Napa Police Lt. Debbie Peecook likewise said the investigation into the 61-year-old woman's death is leaning toward suicide.

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"No foul play is suspected," Peecook said. She also declined further comment.

UPDATE: 9 p.m. Friday, April 5, 2013.

The woman whose body was found this afternoon under the Maxwell Bridge has been identified as Leanne Crowley Reyff, according to Napa County Sheriff's Capt. Leroy Anderson.

Anderson said Reyff was 61 and a Napa resident.  Her family has been notified, he said.

An autopsy will be done next week, Anderson added.

Further details on Reyff and on any suspected motives or causes of her death were not immediately available.

ORIGINAL STORY: 4:30 p.m. Friday, April 5, 2013.

The bloated, stiff body of an adult woman was found Friday afternoon in a muddy area under the Maxwell Bridge on Imola Avenue in south Napa.

A young couple out for a stroll on a trail through the grassy field opposite the Hartle Court apartments at about noon Friday said they saw a flash of bright yellow and went over to investigate.

"It was at the third (bridge) pillar down (from the road)," said the man, who declined to be identified. "I thought it was a dummy -- I kicked it and whoa, it was really stiff -- and then I knew it was a real person."

Napa Police Capt. Jeff Troendly said the body was found on the east side of the river, north of the bridge.

"Medical personnel were called and it was determined the subject was deceased," he said.

Napa Police Department detectives responded to the scene just before 1 p.m. to investigate, Troendly said. 

"It appears as if the female had fallen and/or jumped from the bridge," he added. Police said the woman's age was 60, but it was not immediately clear where they got that information.

Keys to a nearby vehicle, parked in the Foster Freeze parking lot, were found near the body. Detectives are working to identify the victim and the circumstances surrounding her death.

The couple said the woman's body was also very bloated and it appeared she had been there for several days. Her legs and feet appeared shattered, as if many bones had broken in a fall or jump off the bridge, the couple said.

They estimated her age at between 40 and 50. The woman was wearing a yellow running workout outfit and what the man described as "$90 Sketchers running shoes," he said.

Her hair appeared to be dark blonde or grey and was strewn over her face, the couple said.

The couple said they left the scene and went into the nearby movie theater complex, where they borrowed an employee's cell phone to call police.

"She didn't look like a depressed or down-on-her-luck kind of person," said the woman, who also declined to give her name. "I just feel so bad for her."

Anyone with information should contact Napa Police Det.Sean Ulitin at 257-9509.

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