Florida police said they found a “gruesome” and “horrific” scene after a driver called in a report of what looked like a mannequin on fire in a field but was actually a human body.
The caller notified police on Saturday at about 8 a.m. about the “mannequin” they saw on fire in a field on Will Scarlett Avenue in the town of Ruskin, a suburb south of Tampa.
When firefighters arrived and put out the fire they realized that the body was not a mannequin.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said that the person had not yet been identified and had sustained upped body trauma, but did not go into detail. They have opened a homicide investigation into the incident.
They did not know how long the body was on fire before the firefighters arrived.
Police said the body was burned beyond recognition, even to the point that the gender of the person could not be determined.
“This is a jarring scene,” said Sheriff Chad Chronister,” in a statement from the sheriff’s office.
“At this time, our deputies are doing everything they can to determine what happened to this person,” he added. “We do believe this is an isolated incident, and we will continue to work tirelessly until we determine how this horrific crime occurred.”
Police said that their priority was identifying the body and notifying the person’s family.
Neighbors in the area told WFLA-TV that the region had seen increasing crime because of new development.
Any possible witnesses are encouraged to call the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office with information related to the incident.
Here’s a local news report about the incident:
‘A jarring scene’: Burning body found in Hillsborough County fieldwww.youtube.com
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