Foul play not suspected after body found near Kansas River

Lawrence police do not suspect foul play in the death of a 44-year-old Lawrence man whose body was found near the Kansas River Saturday morning.

Police and fire-medical personnel were dispatched at 8:48 a.m. to Seventh and New Jersey Streets after the member of a river cleanup group reported discovering the body.

Sgt. Trent McKinley, a Lawrence Police Department spokesman, said that police had yet to notify next of kin. McKinley said a preliminary exam by crime-scene investigators and a coroner led investigators to believe that foul play was not involved in the death.

The body was found near the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Depot, where homeless camps have been found and unattended deaths have been reported multiple times dating back to at least 2008.

On Saturday, McKinley said he didn’t know whether the man had a home or was between homes at the time of his death. He also said he didn’t see a campsite but saw a “campfire ring” nearby.