ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- A person walking in La Grange Park came across a burning body early early Wednesday morning, sparking a police investigation which closed the park.
More than a dozen Rochester police officers along with homicide investigators are at La Grange Park trying to piece together what happened. A section of La Grange Avenue, as well as the park where the police investigation is focused, was closed.
Shortly after 6 a.m., police were called to the area for the report of a burning body found in a wooded area of the park. RPD shut down the entrance to the park and set up a perimeter with yellow crime tape around the area.
"This morning, a passerby in La Grange Park observed a human body on the ground which appeared to have been on fire. The Rochester Fire Department, the Rochester Police Department did respond and determined the person was deceased," said Inv. Frank Camp. "The victim has not yet been positively identified. We are in the beginning stages of our investigation and this will be a slow and methodical investigation. Anyone with any information should call 911, 311 or CrimeStoppers."
Some residents say they walk the area daily. One woman said she sees homeless people often sleeping in the area.
Police were going door to door in the neighborhood looking for answers.
“Just asking me if I had seen any cars back there," Dwayne Oliver said. "I didn’t really see anything. I woke up at like 8 o’clock this morning and saw a bunch of cars out here and that was really it.”
“We never really had any crime," John Tambe said. "I had one incident of crime, but it was just minor theft. They just took the grill and ran with it, but nothing remotely close to what’s going on over there right now.
Kids at an R-Center near the scene were transferred to Edgerton on Backus St.
This incident comes just one day after a similar incident in the region. In Caledonia, Livingston County, police are also are investigating the death of a person who was burned in a remote area of Lacey Road. The person was found by a passerby. The unidentified person was burned beyond recognition, according to police.