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WILKES-BARRE – A body was found Saturday afternoon partially submerged in Solomon Creek near railroad tracks behind Mesko Glass.

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03/28/09-- A team from the Luzerne County coroners office remove a body from Solomon Creek in Wilkes-Barre on Saturday. (PETE G. WILCOX/THE TIMES LEADER)

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03/28/09-- A Wilkes-Barre Police officer looks through a purse that was found nearby the scene of Saturday's discovery of a body in Solomon Creek. (PETE G. WILCOX/THE TIMES LEADER)

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The body appeared to be that of a male, said Wilkes-Barre police Detective Robert Simonetti. He said the body was half in the water, which runs about a foot deep in that area. The body had started to decompose.

“It’s under investigation,” Simonetti said.

A man walking along the creek bed found the body at about 3:55 p.m., Simonetti said.

That area of the creek is located near the 500 block of Carey Avenue.

Wilkes-Barre Police Department, the Luzerne County District Attorney’s Office and Coroner’s Office are investigating. The body was taken to the morgue for a preliminary examination. An autopsy has not yet been scheduled.

“It’s too early to say anything,” said Coroner John P. Corcoran.

But Corcoran did say the man’s death did not look suspicious.

“We found nothing that would make it a suspicious death,” Corcoran said.

Police found a black handbag near the body and gathered it as evidence. An officer went thorough the contents of the purse.

The name of the man has not been released pending notification of next of kin.

Foul play has not been ruled out in the man’s death because it’s still being investigated.