Body Pulled From River In Traverse City Identified As Homeless Man

TRAVERSE CITY (AP) -- A homeless man who was found dead in a Traverse City river had told police hours earlier that he saw a body floating in the same waterway.

The Traverse City Record-Eagle reports Monday that authorities have identified the man as 43-year-old Abraham Parker.

Interim police Chief Jeff O'Brien says Parker thought he saw a body in the water about 8:15 p.m. Sunday and told a bartender at a nearby tavern to call police. Officers later determined it was a sleeping bag.

Parker's body was spotted Monday morning near the south Union Street bridge downtown. A dive team pulled his body from the river.

An autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday.

O'Brien says Parker had lived among the city's homeless for the past several years.

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