Body found in Delaware River believed to be missing 42-year-old man, Philadelphia police say
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The body found in the Delaware River on Thursday afternoon matches the description of a 42-year-old man who went missing earlier this week, Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small said. Police are investigating the man's death as suspicious.
"It doesn't appear to be a normal drowning at this time," Small said. "Now, this victim may have drowned. However, what we found on the body does appear to be suspicious."
Small declined to get into specifics about what was on the man's body. He said an autopsy would be done at the medical examiner's office and be completed on Friday. Small said there weren't any "obvious signs" of trauma on the body.
Small said police and the Philadelphia Marine Unit responded to a report of a body in the water at about 3:30 p.m. in the area of Linden and Delaware avenues. The man was pronounced dead at 4:20 p.m., police said.
Along with the description, Small said the man's clothing matched the 42-year-old missing man. Family on the scene Thursday also believed the body was their relative who went missing.
Small said 42-year-old man was on a boat with friends or acquaintances on Tuesday night early into Wednesday morning on the Delaware River. That's when family believes he went missing or "fell off the boat," Small said.
Small said the 42-year-old man was reported missing by family around 4 p.m. on Wednesday. It's unclear if the people on the boat reported to police that he was missing, Small said, but it will be a part of law enforcement's investigation.
Small said the Philadelphia Police Department's Northeast Detectives spoke with the people who were on the boat with the 42-year-old man, and they plan on following up after recovering a body.
The vehicle the 42-year-old man drove to Linden and Delaware avenues was still parked near the water when police recovered the body, Small said. The vehicle was towed and police plan to search the car as part of their investigation.
Small said the Philadelphia Police Department's Homicide Unit and Northeast Detectives are involved in the investigation.