Woman’s body found near Sac State, possible homicide

Jacob Abbott

UPDATED: A woman’s body was found floating in the American River near Sacramento State on Friday morning.

Sacramento Police Department Lieutenant Glen Faulkner said the body had signs of trauma inconsistent with a drowning accident. Faulkner called in homicide detectives to help determine the cause of death.

“The body was floating in a manner that you couldn’t clearly see any signs of immediate trauma,” Faulkner said. “The coroner got here, determined there is trauma to the body that’s not immediately consistent with what we would see as a natural sort of death, or an accidental sort of a death. It could still be but not immediately consistent with that.”

Coroners, local enforcement and park rangers were investigating the body between the Guy West Bridge and H Street Bridge after the Sacramento Fire Department had pulled the woman to the side of the American River. The trail along the levee was closed to pedestrians during the investigation.

According to a press release, Sac PD and the fire department responded to the female’s body floating in the American River at 10:18 a.m.

Faulkner said the body had been floating downstream and was reported after a citizen saw the body on the south side of the Guy West Bridge.

“The body, we know, floated downriver, so this is not the scene of the incident,” Faulkner said.

The Sac PD press release stated that while the motive is unclear, detectives do not believe the incident is related to the Sacramento State campus.

A spokesperson for the Sacramento County Coroner’s Office said the identity of the adult female had not been determined but might have an update on Monday morning.

Faulkner said the Sacramento State Police Department was on the scene before the city police and its initial observations were “correct” about the body.

Sac State PD did not immediately respond in time of publication.

Sac PD encourages any witnesses with information regarding the investigation to contact its dispatch center at (916) 264-5471 or Crime Alert at (916) 443-4357. The police department said callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000, according to the press release.

Check back for updates regarding the incident.