San Diego

Decomposed Body in Tijuana River Prompts San Diego Police Homicide Investigation

"The body was extremely decomposed and, at this point, age, race, gender, or any other identifying information remain unclear"

Police lights are shown in this undated image.
NBC 7 San Diego

A badly decomposed body was found in the Tijuana River Channel near the U.S.-Mexico border and a homicide investigation was launched, authorities said Tuesday.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported to police an "obviously deceased" body in a hard-to-reach area on the United States side of the Tijuana River at about 1:30 p.m. Monday, the San Diego Police Department said.

The body was hard to access due to mud, water and other obstacles at the site, so the San Diego Fire & Rescue River Rescue team was called in to assist at around 5:30 p.m.

"The body was extremely decomposed and, at this point, age, race, gender, or any other identifying information remain unclear," SDPD Lt. Adam Sharki said.

The San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office was called in to recover the body and determined the death did not seem natural, San Diego Officer John Buttle said. So, a homicide team was called in to investigate.

The cause of death has not yet been determined.

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