Homicide unit investigating after body found near Toronto Zoo

TORONTO -

Homicide detectives are asking for help to identify a man whose body was discovered near the Toronto Zoo early Monday morning.

Emergency crews were called to Reesor Road, near Old Finch Avenue, in Scarborough shortly after midnight for reports of a grass fire in the area. After firefighters arrived on scene, a body was located, police told CP24.

The man is described as around five-foot-eight to five-foot-ten with an average build. He is between 25 and 35 years of age with a light brown complexion, short dark hair and short dark facial hair. He had a plain gold band on his left ring finger and was wearing a pair of black Air Jordan shoes with red soles.

“It's such a rural area, it happened very early in the morning – again 12:12am – in a very quiet, remote part of the city,” Const. Alex Li told CP24 Monday night. “We're hoping that anyone that might have witnessed something close to that area, maybe leading up to that incident, or again driving through the area might have caught something on dashcam or even cell phone footage.”

Police said the homicide unit has taken carriage of the investigation and they are now asking anyone with information to contact them or Crime Stoppers.

Li called the discovery of the body “concerning.”

“You look at the circumstances – we respond to a fire call in a remote area, we find a deceased body,” he said. “Part of this investigation is trying to put that piece of the puzzle back together as to who is this man, and we need the help from the public to help identify this individual.”

He said police are also concerned about the circumstances that led to the man’s discovery.

“The other thing too is that what led up to the sequence of events to this fire starting, and how did that body get there? These are all the questions that our investigators are going to be conducting a thorough investigation on.”

An autopsy has been scheduled for Tuesday.