State police said a boat engineer who apparently fell into the Monongahela River in Fayette County Wednesday afternoon was found dead hours later.

Jace Edward Sayre, 59, of Chester, W.Va., was reported missing by co-workers about 1:15 p.m. on a Murray American Transportation boat passing through Luzerne, according to police.

Around 8:30 p.m., police said, two boys fishing in the river in Belle Vernon found what turned out to be Mr. Sayre’s body.

Relatives told police that Mr. Sayre had worked on boats for more than 40 years but didn’t know how to swim. A life jacket was found underneath his sleeping quarters in the boat, police said.

The incident is under investigation, but police said the death is not suspicious. An autopsy will be conducted to determine the cause and manner of death.

First Published: May 12, 2016, 3:22 a.m.