NYPD Identifies Dead Body Found In Marine Park Marsh

Investigators have identified the lifeless body of a man pulled from the Marine Park salt marsh on Friday, and they don’t suspect any criminality was involved.

Alex Bender, 45, was pulled from the waters behind the Marine Park Salt Marsh Nature Center, at Avenue U and East 33rd Street, by authorities after being discovered by a passerby. According to the New York Post, Bender’s parents reported their son missing earlier in the day, and sources told the paper he suffered from depression.

Though little details emerged in the hours during and after the recovery, neighbors described the scene and their concerns on GerritsenBeach.net‘s comment section.

Commenters wrote that sirens rang through the neighborhood for more than half an hour and were heard as far away as N&D Pizza on East 29th Street and Avenue U. Another commenter said he witnessed firefighters pulling the body from the water.