Niagara police say a woman whose body was found in the community of Vineland on Sunday lived a "high-risk lifestyle."

The deceased woman was identified on Monday as 29-year-old Stephine Isabelle Beck, of St. Catharines.

Detectives are treating her death as a homicide, but for now are not linking her slaying to an investigation involving the murders of several women in the area over the past decade.

Detectives are trying to learn more about Beck's history. Police say the victim was known to them, and investigators are appealing to anyone who may have had recent contact with her to come forward.

Beck's body was found lying in a ditch beside Seventh Avenue near Victoria Avenue at about 6:30 a.m. Sunday. A passerby noticed the corpse and called police.

The victim was declared dead at the scene. Investigators believe she had not been in the well-travelled area for long before being discovered.

Police launched an investigation Sunday and closed the surrounding area while they searched for clues. The scene is expected to be closed for several days.

Residents of the small community, about a 10-minute drive from St. Catharines, say this is not the first time an incident like this has happened in their area.

In 1999, another woman's body was discovered in a field less than a mile away from where Sunday's discovery was made. People in the community wondered if there was a pattern.

"Somebody is using this area to dump bodies, I guess," Vineland resident Shawn Stevenson said. "I don't know what to say."

Five women have been murdered in the Niagara Region in the past 12 years. Three of the victims were sex trade workers and two were exotic dancers.

Last year, Michael Durant, 33, of Niagara Falls was charged in connection with the murder of two women, Cassey Chicocki and Diane Dimitri. He is in jail awaiting trial.

Three of the other murders remain unsolved. Police have not ruled out the work of a possible serial killer in relation to those deaths.

Investigators asked anyone with information about Sunday's incident to call Niagara police at (905) 688-4111 ext. 4200 or Crime Stoppers at 1 (800) 222-TIPS (8477).

With files from The Canadian Press