Buena Park : Body Found in Gully Near Freeway On-Ramp

Police are investigating possible homicide in the death of a local transient whose body was found late Sunday afternoon lying in a gully alongside the Riverside Freeway.

The identity of the victim, 54, was being withheld pending notification of family. The cause of death is not yet determined, pending an autopsy scheduled today.

The fully clothed body was spotted by a passing motorist at 6:50 p.m. Sunday in a gully next to the Knott Avenue on-ramp, Buena Park Police Lt. Bill Cox said.

There was no visible sign of trauma, but Cox said homicide is suspected because the man’s personal effects were scattered and there were signs of a scuffle. Coroner’s deputies estimated the time of death between noon and 2 p.m.

Cox said that there was no indication of possible motive or suspects and that the man was known to police, having been arrested three days before for public drunkenness. He said the man was in jail several hours, then released.