Detectives trying to identify body found floating in canal

The body of a man was found floating in the Delta-Mendota Canal west of downtown Patterson late Thursday afternoon, authorities said.

At about 5:30 p.m., emergency crews were called to the area of the canal at Sperry Avenue just east of Rogers Road on a report of a body seen floating in the water, according to Lt. Mike Parker of the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department.

Crews quickly arrived, and with vehicles, entered onto the dirt road along the canal.

Shortly after, the body was discovered and subsequently retrieved from the water, Parker said.

He said the body appeared to be of a man in his 50s and, based on the condition, had been in the water for a few days.

Other identifying information or possible injuries to the body would be determined in an autopsy, he said.

Parker added that there were no known reports of anyone missing in the immediate area recently.

We’ll have more on the story as information becomes available.

This story was originally published August 11, 2016 at 7:15 PM with the headline "Detectives trying to identify body found floating in canal."