The identification of a body found Tuesday evening in the river by India Point Park will likely be delayed, the Providence Journal reported Wednesday.
Deputy Police Chief Thomas Oates III told the Journal that members of the state medical examiner’s office will be unable to examine the body until Thursday due to an unrelated case in Connecticut.
Members of the men’s crew team sighted what they believed to be a log in the Providence River near the end of their afternoon practice Tuesday. An assistant coach, who was following team members in a motorboat, stayed behind to investigate and immediately identified the object as a body, said Graham Willoughby, an assistant coach who was in the Hunter S. Marston Boathouse at the time.
The second coach called Willoughby as two police officers arrived at the scene, and Willoughby said he and his colleague “helped bring the body to shore.”
Willoughby said he and his colleague tried to minimize contact between rowers and the body and tried to avoid attracting attention.
“We did our best to handle this situation with the greatest amount of safety and respect,” he added.
Additional Providence Police officers and members of the state medical examiner’s office could not be reached for comment at press time. The Connecticut chief medical examiner also could not be reached for comment.
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