Iowa police investigating after body discovered in Des Moines River

DES MOINES, Iowa — Police are investigating after a body was discovered in the Des Moines River Wednesday morning.

Sgt. Paul Parizek with the Des Moines Police Department said the body, which appears to be that of an adult male, was found on the south side of the river near 2nd Avenue. A homeless man called in at 8:56 a.m. to report he thought he’d seen a body in the river and police officers located it shortly after 9:00 a.m. just east of the 2nd Ave. bridge.

Sgt. Parizek said the body was snagged on a downed tree. There was no identification found on the body.

“So, determining where it came from, where he went into the water…once we figure out who he is, maybe we can work those backwards and get those answers. Some of those things we might not ever know. But as we move forward we’ll be looking for information once we figure out who this individual is,” said Sgt. Parizek.

The Metro STAR dive team used a boat to remove the body from the river around 10:50 a.m.

Police are working with the Polk County Medical Examiner to determine a cause of death and identify the man.

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