Body found floating in the Columbia River near the cable bridge in Kennewick

Benton County sheriff’s detectives are investigating the discovery of a body floating in the Columbia River on Tuesday.

The sheriff’s office received a call about a suspected body floating just offshore east of the Highway 397 cable bridge around 1 p.m., the agency posted on Facebook.

It’s unclear how long the person may have been in the water. Officials have not said if it was a man or woman.

One initial report was that the body was found inside a plastic bag. Officials had not confirmed the report and did not release any new information on the case by Wednesday morning.

Columbia Basin Dive Rescue teams pulled the person from the river and turned them over to the Benton County Coroner’s Office.

An autopsy was planned on Wednesday, said Coroner Bill Leach.

Coroner officials along with sheriff’s detectives are working together to determine who the person was and how they died.

Anyone with information about a missing person is asked to call the Benton County Sheriff’s Office at 509-735-6555.

This story was originally published September 27, 2022 at 4:19 PM.