WESTFIELD – The body of a homeless man was found in the Westfield River yesterday afternoon by a pair of fishermen near Whitney Playground.
City police report that at 1:36 p.m. a DPW worker reported that he had been advised by the two men that a body was seen in about five feet of water near the playground.
Officer Charles Kielbasa reports that the men had been fishing from a canoe when they saw the body on the bottom of the river.
One of the fishermen is an off-duty city firefighter who told Kielbasa that he knew right away that firefighters would be recovering a body, not rescuing a person.
The men told Kielbasa that the man seen was clothed only in a pair of blue jeans and was face down on the bottom with his arms extended over his head.
The responding firefighters brought the body to shore and confirmed that the man was dead.
A wallet found in a pocket of the jeans contained a Massachusetts ID card with a picture that matched the deceased man.
Police report that the man, Joshua Ault, 39, was homeless, with a last known address on St. James St., Springfield.
His next-of-kin is his mother in Michigan and police delayed releasing Ault’s name pending contact with his mother.
Police report that the cause of death has not yet been determined but said that there are no obvious signs of foul play.
Officers found a homeless encampment nearby and, although no definitive evidence has been found, officers believe that was where the man was living.
