WHEELING – Law enforcement officials pulled the body of an unidentified man from the back channel of the Ohio River on Wednesday afternoon near Bridgeport.

According to Wheeling Police and Fire Department Spokesman Phillip Stahl, the body was discovered by a construction crew member working on the Interstate 70 bridge project. The man’s body was in waste-deep water in the back channel of the river to the west of Wheeling Island near the mouth of Wheeling Creek on the Bridgeport side. Stahl noted that because the body was in the Ohio River, law enforcement jurisdiction falls in West Virginia, and therefore the investigation is being handled by Wheeling Police.

Crews from the Wheeling Police Department, Wheeling Fire Department and Bridgeport Police Department were among those on the scene responding to the call that was received around 12:45 p.m. Wednesday.

The body will be turned over to the medical examiner’s office for identification.

“We’ll look into missing persons cases with regional law enforcement agencies while awaiting the report from the medical examiner’s office,” Stahl said.