WASHINGTON – District police continue to investigate the death of a 23-year-old Maryland man whose body was found inside the ventilation shaft of a Northwest D.C. apartment building.

“There’s still a lot of work to do, but it appears that he fell,” Police Chief Cathy Lanier says. “There is nothing right now to indicate any foul play, but I’ll leave that up to the detectives.”

The body of Michael Steven Poe of Clarksburg, Md. was found after a resident of The Haddington apartment building in Adams Morgan called 911 Wednesday night and reported an unconscious person inside a ventilation unit.

The woman told The Washington Post she had seen Poe’s father distributing fliers for his missing son and immediately recognized the man in the photo.

Poe and friends rang in the new year at Shenanigans Bar, officials say. He later separated from the group and never returned home.

Police say Poe was last heard from at 2:30 a.m. after placing a call on his mobile phone.

Sarah Hannon, a family friend, says Poe was friendly and outgoing, and was a great big brother to his younger brother, Matt.

“He was his little brother’s best friend,” she says. “He was always there for him no matter what. He would drop anything for him.”

This WJLA video shows where Poe’s body was found:

This story has been modified to remove a reference to a New Year’s party.

WTOP’s Neal Augenstein and Kate Ryan contributed to this report.

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