UPDATE: Friday – 4/12/2013, 2:45pm ET
WASHINGTON – The body found early Thursday morning in the Tidal Basin is identified as 35-year-old Sarath Kumar Potharaju, a tourist from Illinois who was previously reported missing, NBC 4 reports.
Potharaju’s family tells NBC 4 he died of drowning. His family says he was in D.C. working and visiting relatives, and while touring the city he excused himself to use the restroom and never returned.
His family says there was no evidence of foul play.
EARLIER: Friday – 4/12/2013, 7:50am ET
WASHINGTON – The body found early Thursday morning in the Tidal Basin has not been officially identified, but sources tell ABC7 the body is a tourist who disappeared on Easter Sunday.
Investigators told ABC7 the body might be 35-year-old Sarath Potharaju, who was separated from his cousins that afternoon and hasn’t been seen since.
An autopsy Friday will provide clues to the cause of death.
EARLIER: Thursday – 4/11/2013, 5:41am ET
Kristi King, wtop.com
WASHINGTON – The Tidal Basin attracts cherry blossom enthusiasts all hours of the day when the cherry blossoms are in bloom. Early Thursday, someone found the body of a man floating in the Tidal Basin, according to Metropolitan police.
The body was found in the water near the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial.
Police quickly recovered the body, but it’s unclear how the man died.
Police are conducting what they call a death investigation.
The medical examiner will determine whether a crime was committed.
While the Tidal Basin and the waters near the memorial are on federal property, the Metropolitan Police Department investigates all deaths in the District.
D.C.’s famed cherry blossoms attract hundreds of thousands of people to the Tidal Basin every year. The blossoms are now in peak bloom.
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