LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The body of a local man who had been reported missing has been found in the Arkansas River.

The Little Rock Police Department says it was notified on Tuesday by the State Medical Examiner’s Office that the body had been identified as Jerome George, 41. 

The LRPD says the preliminary cause of death was given as drowning.  

George’s body had been found on the morning of Dec. 30, 2017 at the Little Rock Port Authority. Investigators say a barge operator reported seeing the body floating in the water as he was traveling down the Arkansas River. 

Police say he was able to pull the body onto the barge and then docked at the Port Authority to report it.