Man's Body Recovered Near College, Video of Search Goes Viral

Footage of police, firefighters and other emergency personnel responding to a missing persons call near a local college has gone viral in light of the man's lifeless body being recovered.

The body was recovered during a missing person search in portion of the Charles River that runs under the popular Boston University (BU) Bridge in Cambridge, Massachusetts, according to MassLive Media. The Marine Unit of the Massachusetts State Police reportedly were notified that a person was "struggling to stay afloat in the water" early Wednesday morning.

Witnesses attempted to rescue the man themselves with a borrowed boat but were not successful, local news station WCVB reported.

The Cambridge Fire Department tweeted that they arrived at the scene at 11:11 a.m. "Update on the water rescue Charles River at the BU Bridge/railroad bridge: one reported victim in the water is unaccounted for," the department later posted on Twitter at 11:36 a.m.

The Boston Fire Department (BFD) and Massachusetts State Police also reported to the scene and aided in the search, according to the Cambridge Fire Department.

The BFD also confirmed on their Twitter that they had team members diving in the water to search for the missing person.

In the midst of the search, Alex Lawson, a Boston-based videographer, noticed the rescue team and divers congregated at the BU Bridge. He recorded a portion of their search and posted it to his TikTok, where it was viewed over 757,000 times and liked by nearly 81,000 concerned citizens.

"Ummmm something is going on by the BU Bridge," he wrote in a text overlay on the footage. The video cuts between the fire engines parked nearby, search boats on the water and members of the diving team looking in the river. "All of Boston police is looking for somebody..."

While some optimistically theorized that the police were performing a routine training exercise, locals commented that they had subsequently pulled a body from the water.

Others shared how they had been in the area earlier in the day but were not aware that the man was found deceased. "Getting my campus news from TikTok now," one BU student wrote.

Massachusetts State Police identified the man as 41-year-old Evan Perry, who was pulled from the water after two hours of searching in the 12-foot waters. While police believe he was experiencing homelessness, Cambridge locals insisted that he was not in the comments section of Lawson's video.

Newsweek reached out to the Massachusetts State Police for comment, as all other rescue teams referred inquires to them. The police did not respond in time for publication.

Earlier this month in Massachusetts, Abraham Lincoln's historic family home was reportedly damaged in a car wreck after a young woman swerved on the road to avoid hitting a stray animal. The Samuel Lincoln Cottage was constructed in 1650, a year after Lincoln's great-grandfather reportedly settled in Massachusetts.