BANGOR – Two people who knew a man who was living in a tent in the woods behind Downeast School discovered his body Monday, police said.

Police believe the man was in his late teens or early 20s and was the same person involved in a reported suicide threat about three weeks ago.

“A friend or a friend of a friend went exploring to find where his campsite was” and discovered him, Bangor police Sgt. Bob Bishop said.

Police would not release his name, his age or how he died.

“It’s just a recovery effort now,” Bishop said. “We think it’s been about two weeks” since he died.

Three officers were seen leaving the woods just after 4 p.m. and one carried a small white plastic bag.

Police were alerted about 11:30 a.m. About 4 p.m., two police cruisers and the department’s mobile crime unit still were parked at the tree line in a mowed area behind the school, at 100 Moosehead Blvd.

Classes have been dismissed for the summer, but children were in the playground behind the school Monday because it is home to a summer recreation program for kids between 7 and 11.

The program is run by Bangor Parks and Recreation.

Police “indicated to staff what was going on,” said Tracy Willette, Bangor recreation program supervisor. And “safety [of staff and participants] was not an issue.”

When officers were leaving, two youngsters in the program and a parent approached a cruiser, asking what was going on. The woman was heard telling the officer that her son had arrived at home with word that police were in the woods behind the school.

She said she had heard “everything from murder to a hanging body.” It’s not known what the officer told the woman but it seemed to satisfy her and she said, “That’s sad.”

BDN reporter Meg Haskell contributed to this report.