ASHLAND, Ky. — The body of a man whose identity is not known was recovered from the Ohio River in Ashland, near the Simeon Willis Bridge after being spotted by painters Tuesday.

Capt. Todd Kelley of the Ashland Police Department said that the Boyd County 911 received a call reporting a suspicious object, which the caller suspected could be a body.

Two employees of the North Star Painting Co. made the call after they spotted it while painting the 12th Street bridge that connects Ashland and Ironton. The painters said the body was naked.

Emergency teams from Ohio and Kentucky were alerted, and a crowd began to gather at the Ashland Boat Ramp as the APD waited to accept the body. By around 6:30 p.m. the body had been brought ashore, though those proceedings were covered with a large orange tarp, keeping it from public view.

Details about the body were few, other than the fact that it was a man.

“The condition of the individual was such that it was difficult to tell much,” Capt. Kelley said. “You just can’t tell when the body’s been in the water like that.”

Kelley said that it was still to early to tell if there were any signs of foul play or how long the body had been in the water. An approximate age of the body was also unknown.

Currently, there are no active missing persons cases in Ashland that would match the description of the body found. More work is currently being conducted in Frankfurt, Ky. by the Kentucky State Police to discover the body’s identity and cause of death.

Kelley said that he hasn’t had to handle a body recovered in the river for quite some time.

“This is the first body found in Ashland in the river in several years. This is very rare for this area,” Kelley said. With few facts at this time, police are keeping their ears open. They ask anyone who knows of a male who might be missing should call the police department at (606) 327-2078.