AFD finds body while responding to west Austin grass fire; Police investigating as homicide
A body was found in west Austin in an area where a grass fire burned Friday morning.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin Firefighters found a body in west Austin while responding to a grass fire Friday morning.
The Austin Fire Department said its firefighters had responded to a grass fire at 5:15 a.m. in the 6300 block of Mesa Drive, a residential street in the Northwest Hills area.
The Austin Police Department responded to the scene after AFD found the body.
APD crime scene investigators worked at the scene on Mesa Drive between Edwards Mountain Drive and Cat Mountain Drive. AFD arson investigators also responded to the scene Friday morning.
During a press briefing, a sergeant with APD's homicide unit said that the victim's time of death was 5:37 a.m. He also said that investigators are working to identify the body, and did not provide details on what evidence led to the incident becoming a homicide investigation.
One resident living in the area told KXAN that his wife smelled smoke when she left home in the morning. Another resident said that they saw the crime scene tape, which blocked off that section of Mesa Drive, at around 7 a.m. Both residents asked to remain anonymous.
"I haven't seen things like this in the neighborhood," the second resident said. "A lot of citizens here are trying to live decent, hard-working lives."
The death is being investigated as Austin's 47th homicide of the year.
This is a developing story.