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Body found in Delaware River near yacht club

A body was found in the Delaware River around 8 a.m. Saturday morning, police said, in front of the Quaker City Yacht Club in Tacony.

A body was found in the Delaware River around 8 a.m. Saturday morning, police said, in front of the Quaker City Yacht Club in Tacony.

Police have not yet identified the deceased, whom they described as a black man weighing around 200 pounds. The body was retrieved by the marine unit and taken to the Medical Examiner's office to be identified.

Richard Wallace, a club member, found the body when he was storing a small, communal boat used to ferry people to their boats.

A worker at Philadelphia International Airport, Wallace, 52, had gotten off work at 7 a.m. and had just tied up the "tender boat" when he spotted the body, hooked on a large tree that had washed up under the dock.

"At first I thought it was a mannequin, quite honestly," Wallace said. "And then I looked at it, like, 'No, no way. . .' "

With the tide coming in quickly, Wallace said, he tied a rope to the body and the railing on the dock and called 911.

Wallace said he hopes the body, after being identified, will bring some closure to the family of the person.

"I'm just glad that the body was found, for the parents and all that. At least you get an end to everything," he said.