(KAIR)--The man whose body was recovered from the Missouri River, near Atchison, last week, has been identified.

Saint Joseph, Missouri Police, in a statement, identify the man as 24-year-old James Ford, of Saint Joseph.

Ford's body was pulled from the river, following an extensive search, late Thursday morning, recovered about 10 miles north of Atchison. The Atchison County Rescue Unit, assisted by the Atchison County Sheriff's Office, made the recovery through use of the unit's rescue boat.

The search effort was initially launched after a woman, in the early morning hours last Wednesday, notified Saint Joseph Police that she and her friend, now identified as Ford, were swimming in the Missouri River, near Riverfront Park, in downtown Saint Joseph. She told Police Ford went underwater and did not resurface.