A trailblazing New York state judge whose body was found floating in the Hudson River is thought to have taken her own life after her brother and mother both committed suicide around Easter two years apart from each other, police say.

The body of State Court of Appeals Judge Sheila Abdus-Salaam was retrieved fully clothed from the Hudson by the NYPD harbor unit on Wednesday - one day after her husband of less than a year reported her missing.

Abdus-Salaam, who was the first African-American woman to serve on New York state's highest court and a cancer survivor, began taking medication for 'darkening moods just a few weeks before her apparent suicide,' the New York Daily News reported.

According to those who knew her, her life was also marked by personal tragedy as her mother committed suicide on Easter in 2012 aged 92, the New York Times reported. Two years later her brother shot himself to death around the same holiday.

Despite being widely hailed in several published reports as 'the first female Muslim U.S. judge,' she was not a practitioner of Islam. She adopted the surname 'Abdus-Salaam' when she married her first husband, who was a Muslim.

But a spokesman for the Court of Appeals told the New York Times that she was not Muslim.

Apparent suicide: NYPD said on Thursday no signs of foul play were found in the death of Judge Sheila Abdus-Salaam, whose body was spotted floating in the Hudson River Wednesday

According to those who knew Abdus-Salaam (above in 2015), her life was also marked by personal tragedy as her mother committed suicide on Easter in 2012 aged 92, the New York Times reported. Two years later her brother shot himself to death around the same holiday

Authorities investigating the case said Thursday that they found her medications, as she did not leave behind a suicide note and there were no signs of foul play.

Detectives are looking for surveillance video to see if it revealed her movements along her possible path. They are also looking to see if it supports the theory that she committed suicide.

On Thursday, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio told reporters, 'Obviously, we're still waiting for the full investigation, but to the extent that the challenges and the stresses in her life contributed to this, it's a reminder that even the most accomplished people still deal with extraordinary challenges inward, and we don't get to see that.'

Sources told the Times that Abdus-Salaam, 65, had been stressed recently at work.

She apparently had recently told friends and a doctor that she was suffering from stress.

Her close friend Dr. Marilyn Mobley told the Times that Abdus-Salaam had a 'heavy caseload and was in demand as a speaker'.

She noted that the 65-year-old jurist may have had difficulty handling the pressure.

'What she shared with me is she had been under a lot of stress recently and that she was having trouble sleeping, 'Mobley, who saw the judge two weeks ago in New York for breakfast, stated.

'The truth is she was accomplished, resilient and strong, and she had a breaking point like everyone else. I fear it got there.'

The 65-year-old judge (pictured with NY Governor Andrew Cuomo) was found fully clothed, with no obvious signs of trauma suggesting foul play

Hours before she disappeared, the 65-year-old woman called her chambers in Midtown Manhattan on Tuesday morning to notify the staff she would not be coming in because she was unwell.

When the judge failed to show up for work the next day, her aide sent a text message to her husband, who then called 911 to report her missing.

She was last seen alive leaving her office on Monday evening. Investigators were able to retrace her steps, determining that she took a No 6 train at around 8pm.

Adbus-Salaam was dressed in a gray sweater over a T-shirt, black sweatpants and a pair of New Balance sneakers. She wore a white watch on her wrist and still had a MetroCard in her pocket.

Witnesses noticed Abdus-Salaam's body floating in the water near 132nd Street and Hudson Parkway in Manhattan at around 1.45pm and called 911, police said.

Abdus-Salaam was noted for being the first African-American woman to serve on New York's Court of Appeals when she was appointed by Governor Andrew Cuomo in 2013.

The judge was divorced and recently remarried Reverend Gregory Jacobs in June

Cuomo issued a statement on Wednesday, memorializing her as a 'trailblazing jurist whose life in public service was in pursuit of a more fair and more just New York for all'.

He added: 'As the first African-American woman to be appointed to the State's Court of Appeals, she was a pioneer.

'Through her writings, her wisdom, and her unshakable moral compass, she was a force for good whose legacy will be felt for years to come.

'I was proud to appoint her to the state's highest court and am deeply saddened by her passing.

'On behalf of all New Yorkers, I extend my deepest sympathies to her family, loved ones and colleagues during this trying and difficult time.'

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio also paid tribute, writing: 'Deeply saddened by the tragic passing of Sheila Abdus-Salaam. She was a humble pioneer. My thoughts are with her family.'

The judge, who was twice divorced, remarried Reverend Gregory Jacobs of the Episcopal Archdiocese of Newark, in June, the Daily News reported.

The couple were said to be very happy, and chose to live in separate homes, a neighbor said.

Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio paid tribute to Abdus-Salaam, who was hailed as a 'humble pioneer'

The 65-year-old had been reported missing, and her husband identified her body after witnesses called 911

Abdus-Salaam, who was born Sheila Turner in 1952, was one of seven children.

She grew up in Washington DC with working-class parents and was inspired to pursue law after the civil rights attorney Frankie Muse Freeman visited her high school.

The judge recounted the life-changing talk and said: 'She was riveting... she was doing what I wanted to do: using the law to help people.'

Abdus-Salaam, who later referred to a career in law as 'God's work', graduated from Barnard College in 1974 and received her law degree from Columbia three years later.

She was classmates with former US Attorney Eric Holder, who said during her swearing in ceremony in 2013: 'Sheila could boogie, but there was a seriousness about her, a strong sense of purpose at a relatively young age.'

'She never forgot where she came from,' he added.

She was classmates with former US Attorney Eric Holder, who said during her swearing in ceremony in 2013 (pictured): 'Sheila could boogie, but there was a seriousness about her.'

Abdus-Salaam, who traced her family's history and learned her great-grandfather was a slave in Virginia, marveled at the trajectory of her life in 2014.

She said: 'All the way from Arlington, Virginia, where my family was the property of someone else, to my sitting on the highest court of the State of New York is amazing and huge.

'It tells you and me what it is to know who we are and what we can do.'

Abdus-Salaam worked as an attorney before she began her career as a judge in the Civil Court of the City of New York in 1992.

She joined the Supreme Court of New York County in 1993 before she was appointed to the highest court 20 years later, where she served until her death.

Chief Judge Janet DiFiore said her colleague will be 'missed deeply.'

For readers seeking support, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 1-800-273-8255 or by clicking here.