East End Report: Man Dumped Body in Woods, Cops Say

Happenings across the East End during the week of March 19.

RIVERHEAD

A St. James man was arrested after disposing a woman's body in the woods at Manorville Hills County Park in February, according to police.

Police said Matthew Krauss, 34, of St. James, dumped the body of Pura Simancas, 45, of Central Islip, between Feb. 27 and Feb. 28 in the woods at Manorville Hills County Park after they had used heroin and taken Xanax.

SOUTHAMPTON

Dog-napping Reported in Bridgehampton

A Bridgehampton man said he initially from his Lumber Lane home, but after a tip from a neighbor, he now believes Charlie, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, was stolen.

Douglas DeGroot said that when he returned home on Feb. 13 from taking his kids to school, he didn't see Charlie in his yard. Men working on his property said they didn't know where the dog was either. DeGroot said Charlie is an "escape artist," who manages to get out despite best efforts to secure the yard. By the afternoon, Charlie hadn't wandered home, so DeGroot called Southampton Town Animal Control and the . “I figured maybe he got picked up because he was running loose,” he said. Neither had any information. But, he said, three days later, after he posted missing dog flyers around town and online, his neighbor said she thinks Charlie didn't run away — he was dog-napped.

EAST HAMPTON

In an effort to make the event more family-friendly and welcoming to people of all ages, the 50th annual will .
While the goal is hard to argue with, many in the business community are uneasy that the change will bring with it a drop in sales that usually provides a welcome boost during a slow, early spring season.

NORTH FORK

Olympic qualifiers Amanda Clark and new-found sailing partner Sarah Lihan got to mingle with a local network of supporters at a March 17 fundraiser in Greenport before heading off to Spain for a World Cup event.

Since January, after qualifying for the London Olympics at the World Sailing Championships in Perth, Australia, Shelter Island native Amanda Clark has been laser focused on training with her new partner, crewmate Sarah Lihan, going for the ultimate gold in August in the women’s 470 sailing class. But Clark and Lihan got a short break from the intense training on the water at in Greenport for a successful fundraiser this past Saturday, where $38,000 was raised for the dynamic U.S. duo.

North Fork Patch got to chat with Clark and Lihan at the fundraiser before they headed to Palma de Mallorca, Spain to train for a World Cup event.

WESTHAMPTON-HAMPTON BAYS

Lines were drawn during Monday's Quogue Village Board meeting as the East End Eruv Association made a pitch before a packed board room to erect an Eruv, a symbolic religious boundary.