BELLINGHAM, Wash. -- Police are releasing the identity of the body found by the Nooksack River near the Nugent’s Corner Bridge.

Sixty-one-year-old Kevin Ward was found Friday evening by a family walking along the river.

Whatcom County Sheriff’s Chief Criminal Deputy Doug Chadwick says Ward may have been a homeless man.



Chadwick says the medical examiner found that ward had suffered from heart disease as well as blunt force trauma to the head and chest.

He says it's unclear if the trauma resulted from an altercation prior to his death or if it was self-inflicted.

Anyone who saw Ward in the days leading up to his death is asked to contact the sheriff's office.