Decomposed Body Found in High Bridge Park in Washington Heights

The area in High Bridge Park alongside Harlem River Drive in Washington Heights where a decomposed body was found on Dec...

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Jennifer Glickel/DNAinfo

By Jennifer Glickel and Jon Schuppe

DNAinfo Reporters/Producers

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS — The decomposed remains of a human body were found this morning in a park alongside Harlem River Drive, police said.

A parks worker found the body just before 9:43 a.m. in a grassy area where High Bridge Park meets the highway’s southbound lanes, near W. 167th Street.

The body was too decomposed to immediately identify it, or to even determine if it was of a male or female, police said. That work now falls to the medical examiner’s office.

Detectives are trying to determine the circumstances of the person’s death.

Investigators from the police and medical examiners’ office spent much of the day scouring the trash-strewn area where the body was found.

Though the area is part of High Bridge Park, it is at the foot of a steep cliff and not easily accessible by foot. The area is only 50 feet or so from the highway, separated only by a metal barrier.

The medical examiner’s investigators began marking items, including a pair of shoes and jeans, near the area where the body was found. They were also seen digging into the earth with their hands.

Investigators survey the crime scene in High Bridge Park on Tuesday afternoon

Jennifer Glickel/DNAinfo