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WILKES-BARRE — A body was seen floating face-down in Mill Creek in the city’s Miners Mills neighborhood just before 5 p.m. Saturday.
Police quickly arrived and cordoned off the area with yellow tape, and it took about an hour to retrieve the body due to steep terrain leading down to the water and Saturday’s rain that made things slippery.
There’s about a 30-foot drop from nearby train tracks that cross Mayock Street to the section of the creek where the body was spotted. The creek is currently about 2 feet deep, according to Dean Cortez, 12, who lives in the neighborhood and said he was just playing in the water Friday.
Up to nine cruisers from the city, Plains Township, State Police as well as members from the Luzerne County Coroner’s office were at the scene, along with two fire trucks. The area where the body was found is right at the city’s border with the township.
It remained unclear late Saturday which department would lead the investigation.
One of the fire engines was parked on a bridge that runs above the creek. The engine swung its ladder across the bridge and over the creek to help retrieve the body in coordination with rescuers near the water.
The body was brought up to the bridge at about 6 p.m. At that point, a State Police forensics team had arrived to assist in the investigation.
Luzerne County Deputy Coroner Dan Hughes said it was too early to determine the cause of death or call it suspicious.
He said passers-by saw a body floating in the creek and called authorities.
No further information was available late Saturday.
