Homeless man's body pulled from Saugus River

REVERE – A state police dive team extracted the body of a 46-year-old homeless man from the banks of the commuter rail bridge crossing the Saugus River in Revere by the General Edwards Bridge just before 12:40 p.m. today.

The fully clothed body was pulled into a state police boat from three to four feet off shore at low tide. It took police about an hour to raise the body using ropes.

"State police assigned to the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office responded to a body recovery in water near Mills Avenue in Revere late Wednesday morning," Suffolk District Attorney Spokesman Jake Wark said.

The case was later handed over to Essex County District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett's office, where the incident remains under investigation.

Essex County DA Spokesman Steve O'Connell confirmed that the body was that of a homeless man, but did not release his identity as next of kin has yet to be notified.

O'Connell said there did not appear to be any signs of foul play, but the district attorney's office is awaiting the results of an autopsy to conclude the investigation.

“ There were no obvious signs of trauma on the body,” said O'Connell. “But the case will remain under investigation as we await the results of the autopsy. We have a pretty good idea of who this person is, but we are still attempting to locate and notify his family.”

O'Connell said two individuals fishing in the area made the initial call to the Revere Fire Department to report the body.

Revere Fire Chief Eugene Doherty said his department took a call at 11:25 a.m. for a body floating in the water at the junction of the Pines and Saugus rivers. According to the caller, the body appeared to have floated down the Saugus River.

Doherty said he dispatched a fire boat and asked for the assistance of a private boater at the Point of Pines Yacht Club.

Divers appeared to locate the location of the body quickly, but it took the dive team some time to carefully lift the body from the water in to a police boat.

Three state police cruisers closed a portion of the General Edwards Bridge during the investigation.