Car, with body, pulled from river in St. Paul

Last update: October 10, 2008 - 11:14 PM

A body was found Friday morning in a car pulled from the Mississippi River near Harriet Island in St. Paul.

A homicide investigator at the scene said that workers came upon the vehicle Thursday while dredging the river as part of a shoreline stabilization project.

The workers pulled the car to the surface about 9 a.m. Friday, and after seeing the body, called police, spokesman Peter Panos said.

He added that it was too early to say whether a crime had occurred. But he said the body "appears to have been in the water quite a while given the decomposition."

Police had yet to identify the body, and Panos said that investigators were holding off on other details until an identification is made and family members are notified.

As of late Friday afternoon, investigators still were working to determine who owned the car.

A representative of a firm overseeing the shoreline work said that the vehicle was found near the site of a former parking lot. That portion of Harriet Island now is being renovated to include a trail and other amenities.

ANTHONY LONETREE