Body Found in Abandoned Lexus Near Orange County Freeway

A body was found wrapped in a tarp in the trunk of a car in Anaheim Thursday morning.

California Highway Patrol officers were about to tow an apparently abandoned vehicle on Santa Ana Canyon Road west of Gypsum Canyon Road when "suspicious" objects were seen, prompting officers to notify Anaheim police at 10:45 a.m., Anaheim Police Department Sgt. Daron Wyatt said.

The body was in the trunk, wrapped in a tarp and duct taped, police said.

Police don't know how long the car had been abandoned. A tow truck driver noticed the suspicious item in the trunk and called 911.

It took 12 hours from the time of the report of an abandoned car off the side of the 91 Freeway in Orange County for Anaheim police to confirm that the object inside was a body.

Forensics investigators and a team of Anaheim detectives carefully examined around the dark gray Lexus, careful not to get too close to the car out of fear of compromising evidence.

One investigator collected what appeared to be a cell phone on the scene.