When authorities recovered a body from the Willamette River near Port of Portland Terminal 4 Wednesday, April 30, it marked the fifth body recovered from local waterways in less than three weeks.

According to Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office Deputy John Plock, the body was discovered around 5:30 p.m. April 30 near the terminal, about a mile north of the St. John’s Bridge. The sheriff’s office river patrol unit recovered the body and transferred it to the medical examiner’s office, which will work to determine the identity and cause of death.

Between April 13 and April 18, authorities recovered three other bodies from the Willamette River in north Portland and one from the Columbia River near Hayden Island on April 24. The body recovered from Hayden Island still has not been identified.

After the April 24 discovery, Plock said the recent number of bodies recovered from Portland’s rivers was not uncommon. Plock shared that many factors lead to bodies being discovered in the water, but frequency can increase with warmer weather.

As the weather warms, so does the river temperature. The warmer water accelerates the decomposition process, which causes bodies to rise to the surface, the deputy explained.

Additionally, more activity on the river due to the nicer weather also means a greater chance of recreators spotting a body.

Meanwhile, the Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office is using boats and drones to continue searching the river for Marcelus Angelo Rodriguez, the 20-year-old who went missing while kayaking on April 12. Rodriguez reportedly jumped out of his kayak in distress before going over Willamette Falls near West Linn and Oregon City. Search and Rescue crews located his kayak the following day at Elk Rock Island near Milwaukie, but the sheriff’s office said no new evidence has been found since then.