HOPEWELL − Police have identified the man whose body was pulled Tuesday morning from the James River at City Point.
Donald Avery Stokes, 61, of Chesterfield County, was found floating in the water by people fishing from the pier at Old City Point Waterfront Park. His body was taken to the state medical examiner’s office in Richmond to determine the cause of death.
Authorities blocked off a portion of Water Street and Pecan Avenue near the park while the investigation was conducted. Emergency personnel were seen carrying a stretcher down to the river’s edge where Stokes was found.
“We don’t know the circumstances if he drowned or what happened,” police Lt. Cheyenne Casale told The Progress-Index reporter on the scene.
Old City Point Waterfront Park is located at the confluence of the Appomattox and James rivers in north Hopewell.
This is a developing story.
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This article originally appeared on The Progress-Index: Hopewell Police ID man found dead in James River Tuesday morning; death cause undetermined