ORRINGTON – A car containing a body was stuck in the mud most of Sunday afternoon off a public boat landing while Maine State Police investigators tried to sort out exactly how it got there.

The body was determined to be an adult male, but state police Detective Steve Pickering said late Sunday that the name of the victim would not be released until relatives were notified. Pickering did say that one of the detectives recognized the man, and the car’s registration confirmed the identity.

The cause of death had not been determined, but suicide was not being ruled out, Pickering said.

The tree-lined dirt road leading down to the Orrington boat landing off Blake Road – where residents typically put their boats into the Penobscot River – was taped off shortly after 3 p.m. when Orrington Fire Department officials received the initial call.

Two women out walking a dog down by the river’s edge discovered the car and called police.

Pickering said he did not know how long the car had been there. Low tide occurred just after 4 p.m. Sunday, drawing most of the water away and leaving mud where the vehicle sat.

From the opposite side of the river, a yellow, four-door sedan could be seen with its windows rolled down, the trunk wide open, and a body upright in the driver’s seat. The car’s tires were sunk halfway into the mud about 15 feet from the end of the landing.

The car appeared to have no structural damage, and the front end was facing the landing as if to suggest that it had rolled backward off the ramp.

Several footprints were scattered around the car from police, who approached the car only briefly from 3 to 6 p.m. to take pictures while the car remained in the mud.

A tow truck pulled the car from the water shortly before 6 p.m.

Pickering said detectives were waiting for a state medical examiner to arrive and determine the cause of death.

Also responding to the scene were Brewer Fire and Rescue, Penobscot County Sheriff’s Department and Maine Warden Service.