Lawrence emergency workers put up a tent on a second-floor deck at The Oread hotel, where they were investigating a death Tuesday morning. Emergency dispatchers said the death appeared to be from a fall.

Lawrence police are working to determine how a man fell to his death from an upper floor at The Oread, 1200 Oread Ave.

The man’s body was discovered on a second floor balcony of the multi-level hotel about 7:15 a.m. Tuesday.

Police Sgt. Matt Sarna later identified the victim as a 25-year-old Lawrence man. His name is not yet being released, pending notification of family members.

Police could be seen throughout the hotel most of the morning as detectives tried to piece together what happened.

“The victim’s prior background and activities leading up to the event will need to be thoroughly investigated in order to determine the circumstances surrounding the event,” Sarna wrote in a statement released Tuesday afternoon by the Lawrence Police Department.

Crime scene investigators with the Lawrence Police Department wrapped up their on-site investigation at the hotel on the north edge of the Kansas University campus Tuesday afternoon.

The last of the police left the hotel with a brown evidence bag about 1:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Neither police nor officials with The Oread would say which floor the man fell from or whether alcohol was suspected in the fall.

Those who live nearby the hotel, which opened in January, said they weren’t surprised by the tragedy.

“When it was built everyone thought, oh, when’s the first one going to happen,” KU graduate student Kristen Cowan said. “Just having it be so tall and having access is just sort of inevitable, I suppose.”

No one has said whether the victim was a guest or employee of the hotel.

“These types of investigations proceed at a methodical pace and subsequent information may be released as the facts become known,” Sarna said.

Officials with The Oread declined to comment about the incident but released this statement: “The Lawrence Police Department is currently investigating an incident at The Oread, and we are waiting for their report,” General Manager Nancy Longhurst wrote.

Anyone with additional information about the incident is encouraged to call the Lawrence Police Department Investigations Division at 830-7430 or Douglas County CrimeStoppers at 843-TIPS.

Check back to LJWorld.com for more information on this story as it develops.