Body Discovered In North Utica Creek

Utica, NY (WIBX) - A body -- which has since been determined to be that of a male --was discovered in Reall's Creek, off of North Genesee Street at around 1:30 p.m. today. Utica Police Public Information Officer, Sergeant  Steven Hauck says some passersby saw the individual in the creek and contacted police.

The body has been retrieved from the water, with assistance from the city's Fire Department, but his identification is not yet known.

A local man, who walks along North Genesee Street just about everyday, says the body has been there for at least a few days.

Steven Ryan says he noticed the body earlier this week, possibly as early as Monday morning. However, Ryan says at first he thought it was just a bag of garbage.

"The water [in the creek] was high, and it's never high it's always low. And, about two or three days ago the water went down and I've been seeing this thing in the same spot. It looked like a body but I wasn't sure," Ryan said.

Ryan tells WIBX that while he thought it could be a body, he wasn't sure, so he did not contact police.

(Jeff Monaski contributed to this report)