Authorities deemed a portion of the San Diego Riverbed a crime scene Tuesday evening after a body was found in the area in Grantville, officials confirmed.
Emergency crews made the grim discovery just before 6 p.m. in the 10000-block of Friars Road. San Diego Fire-Rescue crews were initially called to the scene for a rescue. However, when officials arrived, they discovered the body of a deceased person in the riverbed.
After closer examination, firefighters determined the area was a “crime scene” and called investigators from the San Diego Police Department to take over the investigation.
In an effort to preserve the scene for police investigators, firefighters did not immediately remove the body.
The San Diego Police Department sent homicide investigators to the scene.
According to police, the body was found in a waterway, underneath Friars Road, near Armstrong Garden & Nursery. Given the evidence at the scene, police said they have no reason to believe this case is a suicide.
By Tuesday night, investigators had arrrested a person of interest in connection with the death. The name of that person was not immediately released.
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Lt. Manuel Del Toro, acting lieutenant for the SDPD's homicide unit, said the victim discovered in the riverbed had suffered an apparent stab wound to the chest.
"We are investigating this as a homicide," Lt. Del Toro added.
A witness told NBC 7 San Diego that a woman approached him and asked to use his phone. She then called police to report that her boyfriend was dead in the river.
The witness said the man appeared to be floating in the river on his back, face up. The witness also said he recognized the woman, as she lives in a tent near the river. The woman was contacted by investigators at the scene.
Lt. Del Toro said the woman was questioned by police, and provided them with "key information" that will help them piece together what happened to the victim.
The investigation into the man's death is ongoing.
The victim has not yet been identified. That information, as well as his cause of death, will come later from the San Diego County Medical Examiner.
