A group of scientists were testing water samples when they discovered a body in a North Carolina river, authorities said.
The unidentified body was found in Cape Fear River on Tuesday, March 18, according to the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation. The body has been taken to the state’s medical examiner’s officer to determine the cause of death and for identification, the agency said.
“We can confirm that the police department responded to Cape Fear River following a 911 [call] on March 18,” a city spokesperson tells PEOPLE. “The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation has assumed the investigation.”
The agency was called to the scene at approximately 2:30 p.m. local time, the bureau said.
An agency spokesperson told The Fayetteville Observer that investigators believe the body entered the 202-mile-long river in another county. The “murky-colored waterway” flows through “some of the largest urban areas in North Carolina before disgorging into the Atlantic Ocean,” the Wilmington Star-News reported.
Cape Fear River in Fayetteville, South North Carolina.
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Recovery efforts were impacted by the recent hurricanes, according to the agency.
“The recovery of the body was delayed due to fallen trees and debris resulting from past hurricanes,” authorities said.
Fayetteville isn’t the only city to be hit by destructive storm systems. Severe weather impacted states across the South and Midwest, beginning on March 14, causing trees to overturn, homes to be demolished and fires to break out, according to the Associated Press. Wildfires, high winds and tornadoes have resulted in at least 42 deaths since that Friday.
The bureau said an investigation into the person’s death is ongoing.
