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GRANVILLE -- The Mifflin County Coroner's Office is asking for the public's help identifying a man whose body was found Thursday morning in the Juniata River near the former Red's Diner.
A fisherman discovered the unidentified man at approximately 9 a.m. in the area of Rock Base Lane, according to a release issued Thursday by Mifflin County Coroner Andrea L. Alcalde.
Granville Township Police Chief Chad Brehman said the body was found just east of Tate's Campground on the Granville Township side of the river.
The fisherman reported the discovery at 9:01 a.m., Brehman said. When emergency crews were dispatched, authorities already knew the call involved a deceased person rather than a water rescue.
"They knew it was a deceased body at that point," Brehman said.
The man remained unidentified Thursday evening and is being listed as John Doe. The coroner's office believes he was in his late 40s to early 60s and approximately 6 feet tall.
At the time he was found, the man was wearing a blue shirt and dark blue to black shorts bearing the words "Huskies Football," according to the coroner's office.
He was also wearing two black braided cloth bracelets, a cross necklace, and blue-and-red Reebok sneakers.
Several tattoos and a surgical scar could help authorities identify him.
The coroner's office said the man had a scorpion tattoo on his left shoulder and a tattoo appearing to depict a devil’s face on his right shoulder. He also had an unidentified tattoo on his right upper arm.
A surgical scar was visible on the back of his neck, with what appears to be a sun tattoo over the scar.
Brehman said earlier Thursday that investigators believed the man could be a Mifflin County resident because of items recovered at the scene.
"We do believe he is a local resident of Mifflin County due to some of the items recovered at the scene," Brehman said.
Police didn't identify the items or say whether they included anything that could help establish the man's identity.
City Hook & Ladder Fire Company reported around midday that emergency crews were working a water rescue on the Juniata River and that the Mifflin County Coroner's Office had been notified. Brehman said authorities knew before crews were dispatched that the man was deceased.
Granville Township police and the Mifflin County Coroner's Office are investigating.
Authorities haven't said how long the man may have been in the river or how he entered the water. No preliminary cause or manner of death was released Thursday.
An autopsy is scheduled for Saturday, and Brehman said police expect to release more information afterward.
"Once we get the autopsy, we will release some more information," Brehman said.
The body was found near a longtime Mifflin County landmark. Red's Diner closed in June 2025 after the property was sold. The restaurant had operated at 878 U.S. Highway 22 since 1954 and remained one of the area's best-known diners for decades.
Anyone who recognizes the man's description, clothing, jewelry, tattoos or other identifying characteristics, or who has information about a missing person matching the description, is asked to contact the Mifflin County Coroner's Office at 717-242-4591.
The investigation into the man's identity and the circumstances surrounding his death remains ongoing. Additional information will be released as it becomes available.