Man's body pulled from Monongahela River in West Elizabeth; investigation underway

An investigation is underway after a body was found in the Monongahela River on Sunday afternoon.

The body was discovered behind a tug boat near the baseball field in West Elizabeth. John's Towing Service in Beaver County owns the boat, called the "Kimberly Johnson."

Allegheny County police, who were called in to assist Elizabeth Township police, believe the man was working on a boat in the area. The victim was later identified as 56-year-old Donald Wilson, according to a release from the Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office.

KDKA-TV reached out to the company that owns the boat. A representative said they didn't know how Wilson fell into the river, but believed this was a tragic accident.

Elizabeth Borough's fire chief told KDKA-TV that the borough's Swift Water Rescue Team recovered Wilson's body around 3:30 on Sunday afternoon.

"I heard it this afternoon, about 3:30, a loud horn coming from the tug boat. Within minutes, first responders were down here, and they said they found a body behind the tugboat," an unnamed neighbor told KDKA-TV.

One source told KDKA-TV that Wilson checked in with a security guard at the dock late Saturday night. After his wife hadn't heard from him by Sunday morning and the crew didn't see him, a search began.

Still, residents want to know what happened.

"You would think that he had some sort of a life vest, or somebody would have seen him," resident Quenton Martinez said. [Are] there any safety precautions or stuff like that? It's sad, you know, for the family. You never want to see anybody end up in a situation like that."

A full investigation is pending the results of the medical examiner's report, Allegheny County police say.