Police searching for mannequin during training drill find actual body
A monthly training session for a police dive team has turned into a recovery operation after officers made a morbid discovery.
During the drill the team had been looking for a mannequin in the Pawtuxet River, in the US state of Rhode Island, but instead found a human body on Wednesday (local time), local media reports.
According to the Providence Journal, authorities have said the body was found under a bridge in Pawtuxet Village.
The diver who found the man’s body initially thought it was the mannequin they were looking for during the drill, ABC 6 reports.
One woman who lives nearby told the news outlet she thought it was a frightening coincidence.
“Must’ve been scary for the [divers] too,” Kim Cadden told ABC 6.
“They’re not expecting that. They’re looking for a dummy and they find the real thing.”
The death is not being treated as suspicious and police believe the man is a 55-year-old local resident.
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It is thought the body had been in the area for less than a day before it was discovered.
Authorities said they were not releasing further detail until next of kin had been notified.
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