San Diego Police Department

Body Found In Encanto Canyon Under Suspicious Circumstances, SDPD Conducting Homicide Investigation

A woman believed to be in her 20s was found dead in an Encanto canyon under suspicious circumstances Saturday, prompting an investigation - which officers are now calling a homicide. 

The unidentified woman's body was discovered at about 2:30 p.m. by a father and daughter walking their dog along a canyon near South 66th Street just off Skyline Drive, the San Diego Police Department (SDPD) said. The area is surrounded by residential neighborhoods. 

Police at nearby Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Park were contacted and found the body in a ravine about 10 to 12 feet down the pathway. 

The body was on a slope and officers weren't able to get close to the body without damaging the crime scene, Griffin said. The San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office was called to move the body. 

The woman appeared to have injuries to the upper torso and "significant amount of blood" covered the body, Griffin said. She may have been there for a few days before being discovered. 

The death was deemed suspicious and an investigation was launched.

Police would not speculate on how the woman died without a report from the medical examiner but said gunshots were reported overnight in the same general vicinity. It was not clear if the two were connected.

Police began investigating a second location about a block away, near 65th Street and Pittsburg Avenue, Saturday evening. The area was blocked off. It was not clear if the two investigations were related. 

No other information was available.

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