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Karen Scullin reporting The temperature is around 12 degrees tonight. But that didn't keep divers from searching the Jordan River. Duty called, and they did their job. The job was a grisly one. One that ended with them pulling a body from the frigid waters of the Jordan.
That body is now the focus of an investigation.
A sharp-eyed, bird watcher spotted the man late this afternoon, and reported it to investigators.
The Salt Lake County dive team confirmed what detectives already suspected ---- the body of a man was floating in the Jordan River near 4175 S. 775 West. But it's not known how far the body may have traveled downstream.
Capt. Dave Burdett/Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office: “It's in a little bit of an oxbow there at the river-- where it's kind of a jetty there, and actually the body was moving so we don't even know how long it's been in that part of the river, so we don't know how far of an evidence search will have to take place"
It was late this afternoon, that a bird watcher first spotted what he thought was a body.
That brought out detectives to scan the area for evidence, and a dive team to board boats and pluck the man from the icy water. All while preserving evidence at the same time.
Gary Nelson/Salt Lake County Dive Team: “Positioning everything, and then getting the individual onto the stretcher that we use, and pulling him out. It's a lot of manpower and a lot of hard work."
Detectives say the man was fully clothed --- wearing a light jacket.....they believe the body was in the water for some time. A coating of mud made it too difficult to tell if there were any obvious signs of trauma...but the man was carrying an out of state driver's license.
Capt. Dave Burdett: “At this point it will be off to the medical examiner's for an autopsy, homicide investigators are making phone calls and computer checks, and we'll work throughout the night til we get a little bit more."
The frigid night also brought out the fire department's haz-mat team--they were on hand to hose down the divers with warm water--and to rinse off any contamination from the river.
We will hopefully get an i.d. on the man tomorrow --- and learn more about the cause of death.
