A MYSTERY man's body has been discovered floating in the mouth of the River Crouch near Burnham, sparking a police investigation to discover his identity.
The man was first spotted on Thursday, November 27, by yachtsmen, who reported seeing a body floating in the river, prompting Thames Coastguard to contact the police.
When rescue services arrived, they became aware that the body had been in the water for some time, although it is not currently known who the man is, how he came to be in the water, or how he died.
"We were launched by the coastguard after reports of there being a possible person in the water, and we made our way towards the mouth of the Crouch, located the person and assisted the RAF Rescue 125 helicopter, which then took the body to Colchester General Hospital," explained Lucy Ward, press officer for Burnham on Crouch Lifeboat Station.
"The only report we got was of a person in the water and we responded, we don't know before we get there what the situation will be."
The man was wearing a wetsuit and had long ginger hair and a ginger beard, although he has still not been identified by police, who are urging anyone with information about his identity to come forward.
The man's body has been taken to Colchester General Hospital, the Coroner's office has been informed and a post mortem examination is still to be held.
The death is currently being treated as unexplained.
Detective Sergeant Lydia George, of Colchester CID, said: "We do not know who this man is and would urge anyone who has any information to make contact with us.
"He was a well-built man with a short ginger beard and long ginger hair. He was wearing a full-length black wetsuit which had a blue Mystic logo on the right arm of the sleeve."
Anyone with any information should call Essex Police on 101.
