Body found in river 'very suspicious'

Waynesboro police have responded to the South River near Port Republic Road, where a man's body is in the water.

By: Chase Purdy | News Virginian
Published: May 15, 2010

Waynesboro police started a homicide investigation Friday night after officers discovered a man’s body in the South River.

In the water, almost entirely submerged, a man with long sideburns lay on his back with his arms crossed over his chest. Above him, an officer stood guard.

“At this point we are considering this very suspicious,” said police spokesman Sgt. Kelly Walker. “We’re treating it as a homicide.”

Authorities said they found the body just after 7 p.m. beneath a train trestle, down river from the Broad Street bridge. An anonymous caller alerted police, authorities said.

Walker would comment neither on the cause of death nor the man’s identity.

Standing nearby, residents of Port Republic Road watched the flashes of detectives’ cameras bounce off the surface of the river. Some onlookers peered through bushes as adults yelled at curious children to back away.

“Don’t go down there,” one woman said to a young girl. “It’s the kind of thing that will give you nightmares.”

As she watched officers investigate, Judy L. Beverage, of Port Republic Road, said this is the second time she’s seen a dead body.

“You know, I’m sad about it but it doesn’t much scare me,” Beverage said. “When you die, you die.”

As people around her hypothesized about the death, Lucy Riley appeared shaken from what she saw.

“It’s sad,” she said. “It’s not something that happens every day.”

Officers remained at the scene until about 9:30 p.m., when rain, darkness and lightning forced them to shut down their investigation, Walker said. Authorities assigned an officer to stand guard over the scene until the investigation could resume in the morning. Walker said authorities would transport the body to the Medical Examiner’s Office in Roanoke.