A burning body was discovered on the side of a road near an upscale Covina neighborhood Tuesday morning.
A sheriff's deputy on patrol spotted the body on fire about 4 a.m. on East Covina Hills Road (map), a back road along the 10 Freeway, officials said.
The deputy said he pulled a fire extinguisher from his cruiser to put the fire out.
Sheriff's homicide detectives were investigating the circumstances surrounding the death. They said the body was likely dumped, but the way the victim died was still undetermined.
"If it's a male or female, adult or child, it's just so badly burned right now that it would be a guess," said Lt. John Corina of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
Detectives said dental records may be the only way to identify the victim. They believe there were no witnesses when the body was dumped.
"It's pretty rural over here," Corina said. "There's not a lot of homes in this area, so if someone put something here or dumped something here, they'd be out of sight."
About a mile stretch of East Covina Hills Road from Holt Avenue to Paseo Victoria was closed off to traffi during the investigation.
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