Woman's body found in Black River near Port Huron

FOX 2 (WJBK) - A gruesome discovery of a woman's body was made near Port Huron Sunday afternoon found by a resident who lives nearby.

"In Port Huron Township, the sheriff’s department was alerted to a body in Black River," said Assistant Chief Brian Kerrigan, Port Huron police. "The person went down to their dock and noticed a body floating in the water by the shoreline. It appeared to have been there for a while, so it was in a state of decomposition."

Police are looking to see if the body found in the Black River is connected to a case from earlier this year.

"So when the sheriff’s department responded they contacted us due to suspicion of an investigation we have ongoing from the end of February," he said.

That case involved a woman in her 60s who has been missing for several months.

"There’s a group home in the area where a female subject walked away in the middle of the night late in February," Kerrigan said.

Police say the investigation is ongoing but it’s believed the woman may have been receiving some mental health treatment at the facility. However, she was not prohibited from leaving.

"She was free to come and go out of the building," he said.

But after walking away that night, the woman has not been seen since - now police are working to see if there is a connection.

"Right now we’re pending the autopsy results from the medical examiner's office," Kerrigan said. "Number one, to rule out foul play. There’s no signs of foul play from what we can see at the recovery site."

Investigators are also working on identification - reaching out to the woman’s family to alert them of the body that was discovered in the Black River.

"So it’s a good chance this is the person, however, we are waiting to verify identification through the medical examiner’s office," he said.