It is the Polar Bear Plunge weekend in Sea Isle City. It is an event designed to bring visitors to the shore for mid-winter fun and to raise money for charity, but this year there is also a serious side
It was during last year's Polar Bear Plunge weekend that 35-year-old Tracy Hottenstein of Conshohocken died. Her body was found near a marina next to the back bay. She'd been drinking with friends at the Ocean Drive night spot.
Surveillance video showed that she left the bar without her phone and purse around 2:15 a.m. Authorities believe she fell into the water crawled out and collapsed.
The medical examiner said Hottenstein died of hypothermia from acute intoxication; her injuries may have been the result of the fall. The death was ruled accidental, but there are still unanswered questions.
Investigators from Cape May County, Sea Isle Police, and friends of Hottenstein are circulating fliers with her photo, one taken just hours before her death
A command post is set up this weekend at Kennedy Boulevard and Landis Avenue in hopes that someone will stop in and possibly provide information that can lead to answers and closure for her family.
