STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Authorities are trying to identify a woman with distinctive tattoos and jewelry whose body was found months ago along the shoreline in Fort Wadsworth.
The woman’s body was recovered along the water near the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge on the afternoon of June 27, according to police.
The cause and manner of her death are pending further study, according to a spokeswoman for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
A spokesperson for the NYPD was unable to provide any updates about the investigation.
Although the woman’s body was in the process of decomposing from floating in the water, authorities were able to recover some clues that might help identify her.
Authorities posted images of tattoos on her body and a cross she was wearing on the website for the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System.
The woman of uncertain race and ethnicity stood 5 feet, 2 inches tall and weighed an estimated 130 to 150 pounds. She likely was between 35 to 55 years old, according to the NamUS website.
The body of an unidentified woman was found on the shoreline of Staten Island at Fort Wadsworth near the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge on June 27, 2025. Her tattoos included, on the left, adinkra symbols and, on the right, a kanji symbol.(National Missing and Unidentified Persons System)
The woman had multiple tattoos representing ancient spiritual and multi-cultural symbols, including Ghanaian adinkras on her upper left arm and right shoulder, an Egyptian ankh on her upper left arm, and a Chinese-Japanese kanji on her left arm.
Jewelry she was wearing included a yellow-colored metal chain with a cross and a black-beaded bracelet.
She was casually dressed in multiple layers of clothing, including a blue Lululemon sweatshirt, black and brown sweatshirts, and a black T-shirt. She also wore blue pants, a black belt, black underwear, gray socks and brown slip-on boots.
Officers were called to Fort Wadsworth at about 12:20 p.m. on June 27. They located the body, which was believed to have washed ashore from the waters off Staten Island. In initial accounts, the body was incorrectly identified as male.
The person was pronounced dead by EMS at the scene.
At least two NYPD vehicles, two U.S. Park Police vehicles, and one unmarked police vehicle were on location during the initial response.
Anyone with information regarding this individual is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/, or on X @NYPDTips.
All calls are strictly confidential.
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The Advance/SILive.com gratefully acknowledges the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, National Institute of Justice, NamUs, for allowing us to reproduce the photos.
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