In an open field, what first seemed to be a burning mannequin was actually a dead human.
According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, police were called to the 1100 block of Will Scarlett Avenue, which is behind a residential neighborhood in Ruskin, Florida, shortly after 8 a.m. on Saturday.
A 911 caller reported seeing what appeared to be a flaming mannequin while driving near.
County rescue crews responded to the scene and put out the fames, and at that point determined that it was not a mannequin, but rather a dead person.
‘This is a jarring scene,’ stated Sheriff Chad Chronister.
‘At this time, our deputies are doing everything they can to determine what happened to this person.’
The victim sustained upper body trauma and could not be immediately identified due to the severity of the burns, according to the sheriff’s office.
The incident is under investigation as a homicide by the sheriff’s office.
No information on a possible suspect has been publicly released.
‘We do believe this is an isolated incident,’ Chronister stated, ‘And we will continue to work tirelessly until we determine how this horrific crime occurred.’
Ruskin is an unincorporated census-designated place over 20 miles south of Tampa.
The incident ended much more tragically than another scene in March near Swayfield in Lincolnshire in the UK. A concerned train passenger sounded an alarm after seeing what looked like a corpse or very ill person in a field.
‘Several officers including a drone pilot from Boston rushed to the fields in the locality to carry out a search,’ stated a Lincolnshire Police spokesperson.
‘However it was one of our finest, a real life farming Special Constable, who found the tragic scarecrow just asleep on the job.
‘Uprighted and given some bird scaring tips along with some jolly good words of advice, he was allowed to get back to work.’