NSW: Cause of death of body in Georges River still not known
02 Nov 2008 7:44 PMNSW: Cause of death of body in Georges River still not known
SYDNEY, Nov 2 AAP - A man's body found by children canoeing in a Sydney bay may have been there for over a week, police say.
The two children who found the body said it was wrapped in a "bag" with wire and an extension cord around it.
The cousins, aged nine and 14, saw the body while canoeing in Oatley Bay onthe Georges River, in Sydney's south, late yesterday.
Police said the man's cause of death may not be known for a number of weeks.
Police said a preliminary post-mortem examination showed the victim was an Asian man, 176cm tall with black hair, and believed to have been aged in his late 20s or early 30s.
The children returned home from a canoeing trip and told their parents theyhad seen a body in Oatley Bay about 6.15pm (AEDT) yesterday.
Police battled rising tidal waters to retrieve the body in marshes off Morshead Drive at Connells Point.
Police said the body could have been in the water for between seven and 10 days before it was found, and was wrapped in a "rug-like material".
"Preliminary post-mortem results have told us the body was in the water forquite some time," Detective Inspector Terry O'Neill said.
"At this point in the inquiry, we are unable to tell precisely how long thebody had been there.
"Forensic examinations and testing are still continuing and some results are not expected to be known for several weeks."
Nine-year-old Matt Langham told the Nine Network: "My cousin saw a bag so we went over and untied it.
"We rolled it over and some water came out of it and some blood came out ofit," he added.
His 14-year-old cousin Hayden Wright said: "It kind of smelt a little bit and had wire wrapped around it and an extension cord."
Nearby resident Andrew Leeman, who went to a nearby jetty after seeing spotlights on the bay, told Nine that he had no idea what the object was.
"It looked like a black sofa, like a black rubber sofa of some sort on the edge of the water," he said.
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