The body of a woman found on a beach in Melbourne's south-west had been badly burnt, police say.
A woman walking along The Esplanade in Altona made the grim discovery at 8.40am on Monday.
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Woman's body found near Altona beach
A woman's body is found by a passer-by Monday morning along the Esplanade of Altona beach. Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. (Vision courtesy Seven News Melbourne)
The dead woman, lying near rocks on the shoreline near Maidstone Street, had burns to most of her upper body, Detective Senior Sergeant Steve McIntyre of the homicide squad said.
"It would appear the woman has been burnt in this location," he said.
Most of her clothes had been burnt away and her face suffered disfigurement.
Senior Sergeant McIntyre said it did not appear the body had washed ashore.
Altona: body found only metres from houses / park. Disturbing scene from above. @7NewsMelbourne pic.twitter.com/bQ0IVtln4Z
— Shayne Whiteley (@7newspilot) July 11, 2016
He said an autopsy was expected to be conducted on Monday afternoon to determine a cause of death and in the hope of identifying the woman.
"We don't know what the cause of death is and we don't know if anyone else is involved," Senior Sergeant McIntyre said.
"At this point in time, we're looking at a number of missing people, but we haven't found anyone that matches the description of the woman."
.@VictoriaPolice say body of a woman found at Altona beach was badly burnt. Treating it as suspicious #aapnewswire pic.twitter.com/2vyPTHc5oJ
— Melissa Meehan (@melissameehanau) July 11, 2016
Senior Sergeant McIntyre said she was most likely burnt overnight, given the number of people who frequent the area.
Neighbours living along the Esplanade across from where the body was found told Fairfax Media they heard nothing overnight.
SES volunteers searched through bins and a toilet block in the nearby reserve.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a report online.
A woman's body has been found near Altona beach https://t.co/TAEAyej09e pic.twitter.com/y0F2w7AVgS
— 3AW Melbourne (@3AW693) July 11, 2016
