A stunned passerby discovered a woman’s body floating in a pond at usually tranquil Bowne Park in Queens on Sunday.
Police said the witness dialed 911 shortly after 6 p.m. to report an unconscious woman in the kettle pond in Flushing.
When officers reached the park, they found the woman’s body drifting in the water near a fountain.
Emergency responders carefully pulled the body from the pond and placed it on the grass as shaken visitors watched nearby.
Most of the body was covered with a white tarp, though one gray, wrinkled foot remained visible, according to observations at the scene.
A neighborhood resident who had come to the park for her regular evening dog walk as police arrived described the incident as “unsettling” in a place that is usually seen as a calm escape from the city.
“I find [the park] a safe place to be, so I don’t think it was anything from violence,” she said while vaguely gesturing to the pond where the woman’s body was.
The NYPD said a medical examiner is working on determining the cause of death. The woman’s identity has not been released and the investigation is ongoing.
Bowne Park hosted a community clean-up event and silent disco party on Saturday evening, according to its website.
