MIAMI GARDENS, FLA. (WSVN) - Homicide officials are investigating after, they said, landscapers discovered a dead body in a bush on the side of the Palmetto Expressway in Miami Gardens, Tuesday morning.
7Skyforce hovered over the scene as detectives surrounded a large bush on the median of the highway.
According to police, officials were alerted about the grisly discovery several feet from the roadway, near an industrial area, just before noon.
Since the remains were located in between the branches of the bush, police and county workers had to cut though the chain-link fence and saw through the shrubbery to get to the body. Investigators put on hazmat suits to take a closer look.
“I’m shocked, I’m shocked, I’m shocked,” said Alicia Lee, who works at a nearby furniture store. “That’s truly how I feel: shocked.”
Lee told 7News that Miami Gardens Public Works crews were doing work in the area along the highway and spotted the body. “I was coming home from work, and I basically saw, first, the police started roping the area off, then one of the public workers basically explained that they found a dead body by the highway,” she said. “Right now they are just trying to see what is going on.”
After hours of work, homicide detectives were able to get to the remains. Investigators believe the body belongs to a woman. However, they have not disclosed how long the body had been in the bush.
Miami Gardens Police shut down one eastbound lane around some furniture stores and car dealerships on the south side of the Palmetto. The medical examiner will determine exactly how the person died.
“I’m not surprised. It’s sad to say, but it’s the truth,” said Lee. “So much has happened, especially in Miami Gardens.”
Police said it could take at least one day until they are able to determine the identity of the body.
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