Billy Brock had been in the water for several days, said Deputy Coroner Gene Proctor.
His body has been sent to the state crime lab in Atlanta to determine the cause of death, Proctor said.
Lt. Gary Clayton of the Rome Police Department said police do not think foul play was a factor, but they will not be certain until the autopsy has been completed.
Police were notified of the body after a passerby, Stephanie Collins, spotted the body while walking across the Chief John Ross Memorial Bridge over the Oostanaula River. At first she thought the body was a dog or large fish.
“We ran so we wouldn’t lose the body,” Collins said. “I kept screaming at people to call 911. I got so scared I forgot I had my phone in my hand.”
Collins and some friends followed the body as it rounded the corner from the Oostanaula River and flowed into the Coosa.
Collins called police at about 2:30 p.m., and the body was located within 30 minutes.
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