Man Hooks Onto Dead Body While Fishing in Central Park

A fisherman in Central Park thought he’d made a nice catch when he felt something on the end of his line, but when he reeled it in he realized it was a dead body. Luis Castoire was at the Harlem Meer on Thursday when he made the discovery around 11 a.m.

"I thought I was seeing a ghost," Castoire told NBC New York. "I felt a thump, my hook had gotten stuck ... When I go to lift it, I seen the leg come up, and then I saw the rest of the body.”

Castoire said he’s been fishing in the park since he was a child and that the moment was “really devastating.” He immediately called police.

Authorities said the body was that of an unidentified man in his 30s near Harlem who had suffered a head wound. The official cause of death has not been determined yet, according to reports.

Castoire told the station that he’s not sure if he will be able to come back to the place which once brought him so much peace and happiness.

“This is like my backyard. I don't think personally I could come back to this park and be able to fish here, knowing that I hooked up into a body," Castoire said.

The incident is the third time a body has been found in the park this month.

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