Four young people swimming in the Patapsco River late yesterday afternoon spotted a man's body in the water near Interstate 895 in Brooklyn Park, Maryland Natural Resources Police said.

The youths alerted authorities shortly before 5 p.m.

Police from the Department of Natural Resources, Maryland Transportation Authority and Anne Arundel County were investigating.

DNR spokeswoman Heather Lynch said last night the man had not been identified, and that the body appeared to have been in the water for several days.