A post-mortem conducted at Health Sciences North Monday was unable to identify the cause of death of a male body found in Junction Creek near Regent and McLeod Streets Saturday evening.

Dr. David Cameron, regional supervising coroner for North region, based in Greater Sudbury, said what the post-mortem did determine was the body was a male of native heritage, and middle-aged, possibly in his 30s to 50s.

"There were no signs of trauma or anything suspicious," he said. "We got a good blood sample to send for testing."

Cameron said the man’s face was in good enough condition to possibly identify him through a photograph.

"It’s possible we could compare him to a picture if we knew who we were looking for," he said.

The body was also found to be 5-foot-5 tall, about 160 pounds, with shoulder-length, thick black hair. Some upper teeth were missing.

The body was discovered about 6:30 p.m. Saturday by neighbourhood residents Shae Duval and her father, who were attempting to look for a beaver.

Both said the body appeared to have been in the water for some time due to bloating. The area where the body was found, in shallow water near an overhanging tree, was about 50 yards downstream from where Regent Street crosses over the creek.

There were indications on the creek’s banks the water level had been much higher during the spring-runoff period.

Cameron said the body could have been in the water for a short period or over the winter months.

"He could have been there since the beginning of winter and possibly as recently as a couple of weeks," he said. "The water preserved the body very well."

When asked if the cause of death could have been drowning, Cameron said he could not say it was.

"He could have ended up there in recent months," said the regional supervising coroner. "He could have ended up on top of the snow and went through later … We know it was not recently."

Cameron said the body was recovered whole. When it was removed from the water "he was covered in silt to quite a degree." That’s why, said Cameron, it initially appeared as though the body was not intact.

Cameron said the post-mortem produced a lot of information and material to work with and now just two issues remain.

"The first issue is identification: we have to see the stories coming in," he said. "Sometimes, people will forget about the fact they haven’t seen someone in a month until this story comes up. We have material for dental records. We have DNA. We have blood. And we may have fingerprints, but there is lots of water damage."

The second issue, said Cameron, is the cause of death.

"It doesn’t look like any trauma or foul play in this case," he said.

Greater Sudbury Police were expected to complete their search Monday in the area of the creek where the body was found.

Staff Sgt. Craig Maki told reporters Sunday that if the post-mortem determined a homicide was involved, police would take over the case from the coroner’s office.

Maki said if any member of the public has information that could assist in the investigation, the service wants to talk to them.

"If anybody knows anything, if somebody was missing, if they have seen something in that area of the creek, contact police," he said.

The number to call police is 705-675-9171. Sudbury Rainbow Crime Stoppers can also be contacted at 705-222-TIPS.

harold.carmichael@sunmedia.ca