SOUTH CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The South Charleston Police Department is asking for the public’s help to identify a man’s body found in the Kanawha River this week.
Police say the man had a tattoo of Our Lady of Guadalupe (Virgin Mary) on his shoulder and had a crucifix in his pants pocket.
“I have found that that’s commonplace among Hispanic males because of their Roman Catholic faith,” said SC Police Lt. Pat Rader. “We’re hoping that can help develop some leads as to the identity of this young man, because he had no ID on him.”
Rader said the man was most likely in his 20’s or 30’s. He said there was no obvious signs of foul play, but given how long the man was in the river, it’s hard to say for certain.
“Not that we can see. Of course, there was a lot of decomposition with the body so that’s what we have to face. Using what we have in front of us in order to identify.”
The man’s body was found Tuesday night by a pair of kayakers who were out on the river.
“We need all the help we can get,” Rader said. “This guy had some family somewhere and I’m sure they would like to know what happened to their loved one, and we would like to help them find out what happened.”
The male appeared to be less than six-feet-tall, a statement said.
Anyone with information on the incident is asked to contact the South Charleston Police Department at 304-744-5951.