It's a stomach-churning sign of spring, as reliable as cherry blossoms or allergy attacks: reports of dead bodies rising to the surface of New York's harbor and rivers as the water warms with the season.

More of these so-called floaters are recovered from the city's waterways in April, May and June than during the rest of the year, according to Capt. Anthony J. Russo of the New York Police Department Harbor Unit.

Of...