A naked body was found in a retention canal on Northeast 10th Avenue Wednesday morning.
A Gainesville Regional Utilities employee saw the body around 8:30 a.m. and called the Gainesville Police Department.
Police have been unable to find out the identity of the man, how he died or why he was in the canal.
GPD spokeswoman Summer Hallett said the man is 5 feet 6 inches tall and 121 pounds. He is white, with dark, almost black hair, brown eyes, a goatee and a beard, Hallett said.
The man also has three tattoos.
One tattoo is a skull and crossbones with eagle wings. There is a Harley-Davidson banner under the skull, and "Little Ray" is written underneath.
Another tattoo is a naked woman with angel wings. All three images are greenish black in color.
Anyone with information about the identity of the man is asked to call GPD Detective Jeff Nordberg at 352-334-3135.
"We are still investigating," Hallett said. "We don't know who this person is, so we can't go back and retrace their steps."
