Preston — A body was found in the Quinebaug River Thursday morning, police said.

According to state police, the body of a white male was found in the water at a power station in the area of 72 Roosevelt Ave. Ext. Mitch Furber, a Montville resident working for First Light and Power, said he discovered the body around 8 a.m.

Every morning, crews go out to clean the racks in the river that collect debris. Furber said he noticed a large tree Thursday morning that would need to be cut up and removed. When he returned with the saw for the tree, he saw a sweatshirt near the tree that was gathering trash and found the body when he moved the sweatshirt.

"It almost crippled me when I touched it because I knew it wasn't a tree," Furber said. He called over fellow contractors at the site to confirm that it was a deceased body and called 911.

Detectives from the Eastern District Major Crime division and state police from Troop E in Montville are investigating the incident. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will be conducting a post-mortem examination to determine the cause of death and help identify the body.

No further information is available at this time.