Rowers find body in Anacostia River; 4th found in less than 2 weeks in DC
FOX 5 was first and only one on the scene Friday morning when a body was found floating in the Anacostia River. There have been four bodies found in the waters in D.C. in less than two weeks.
On Friday morning, people started the Fourth of July weekend early by hitting some balls at the Langston Golf Course. A few yards away, others were rowing down the Anacostia River when they suddenly saw a body floating in the water.
They called the police and the D.C. Harbor Patrol -- a specialized unit of the D.C. police department -- and used two jet skis to recover the body.
Homicide was called in to investigate, but the medical examiner was there to take the body for an autopsy to determine the cause of death. D.C. police have identified the victim as 16-year-old Oludumare Obasule Olushhola Ayodeji of District Heights, Maryland.
When police pulled the body out of the river, it brought the total of bodies found floating around D.C. in the last two weeks to four. The other three were found in tourists spots.
A week ago on Monday, Ronald Windsor's body was seen floating in the water at 2900 K Street next to the Georgetown waterfront. Police say the 47-year-old had drowned.
Two days later, people walking near the Jefferson Memorial at 6:30 a.m. saw a male body floating in the Tidal Basin. He has since been identified as Deante Tinnen of Southeast D.C. Police say they are still waiting for an autopsy to determine how the 20-year-old died.
Just a few hours later, police got a call about a third body found floating across from the Watergate and near the Kennedy Center. Police still have not identified the body and the cause of death is pending an autopsy.
Harbor Patrol has been working hard this summer. Officer Wendell Cunningham, vice chairman of the D.C. Police Union, has trained with the specialized unit, which is tasked with rescuing people in the water -- or in these cases -- getting bodies.
"Harbor unit is called out for any types of bodies and that covers the D.C. area," he said. "They respond out in reference to that. All they do is recover the body and turn it over to the District or to the homicide unit."
Summer months and boating season mean more people in and around the water. But so far, four bodies found in less than two weeks is surprising.
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