PORTLAND — Portland police say they have tentatively identified an adult man whose body was discovered floating next to a fishing pier under Custom House Wharf this afternoon, but Lt. James Sweatt said they would not be releasing the man’ s name until his next of kin have been notified.
Two fishermen discovered the body wedged between the pier and a fishing boat around 4:30 p.m., according to initial reports. Sweatt declined to comment on how long the body had been in the water.
The pier, which is located at the end of Custom House Wharf off Commercial Street and the city’s Old Port District, was cordoned off while the city’s fireboat recovered the body from the water. The pier faces west to the Portland Pier and the New Meadows Lobster Co.
Investigators found a worn back pack and a half-empty bottle of beer on an overlook. Sweatt said those items might belong to the deceased.
Sweatt said members of the department’s Criminal Investigation Division will now turn their focus on reports of missing persons or reported altercations from Saturday night.
He would not comment on whether the man’s death appeared to be suspicious but said the state Medical Examiner’s Office has been notified.
The pier where the body was found runs under Custom House Wharf, a narrow street, which includes a fish market and the Porthole Restaurant.
Several of the buildings that line the wharf are in rough shape, with a few resembling ramshackle oversized sheds.
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