San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office
San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office. Photo via @SanDiegoCounty Twitter

A 53-year-old man was found dead Thursday near a makeshift encampment alongside state Route 78 in Vista.

A pedestrian flagged down a California Highway Patrol officer about 1 p.m. to report spotting the body, which was in an open area between Hacienda Drive and the highway, just east of Vista Courthouse, public-affairs Officer Hunter Gerber said.

Preliminary evidence suggested that the man, whose name was withheld pending family notification, might have died of a drug overdose, Gerber said.

The San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office was called in by the CHP.

– City News Service