Emergency Fire Responders
San Diego Fire-Rescue Department. Photo credit: OnScene.TV

The discovery of a body at the site of a suspicious predawn brush fire in Mission Bay Park prompted a homicide investigation Thursday.

Firefighters found the burned body, believed to be that of a young woman or teenage girl, at about 3 a.m while extinguishing the hillside blaze near a parking lot north of Friars Road and west of Napa Street, according to the San Diego Police Department.

In light of the suspicious nature of the fire and the possibly related fatality, homicide detectives and the San Diego Metro Arson Strike Team will investigate.

“Due to the extensive damage from the fire, information about the (decedent’s) identity or any possible injuries is very limited,” Lt. Steve Shebloski said in the mid-afternoon. “It is still very early in the investigation, and little is known about the cause of the fire and the circumstances leading up to the … death.”

– City News Service

Updated 5:15 p.m. Aug. 18