A body was found Friday in the Columbia River near the Astoria Bridge.

The body of a man was recovered Friday afternoon from the Columbia River near the Astoria Bridge.

He appears to have been in the water for several weeks, Clatsop County Sheriff Tom Bergin said. The man was found in what appeared to be work clothes. He was apparently wearing a purple shirt, gray pants and black boots, though Bergin noted clothing can sometimes change colors after such a long time in the water.

A number of drivers reported the body in the water near the Washington state side of the river. Law enforcement located the body just east of the bridge around 1:30 p.m. and sent a Clatsop County Sheriff’s Office boat to retrieve it.

“We couldn’t pull him up the steep rocks so it was just safer,” Bergin said.

The Astoria Police Department, the Clatsop County Sheriff’s Office, the Coast Guard, the Pacific County Sheriff’s Office and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife responded to the scene. Clatsop County will lead the investigation.