Two bicyclists out for an early morning ride in Florida made a gruesome discovery when a fire turned out to be two burning bodies. Police have now disclosed that the victims were two young men.
The Orange County Sheriff's Office received a call at 6:41 a.m. on Sunday about a fire that had been spotted on Cady Way Trail on a grassy hill beside a small wooden bridge. The trail is often used by bicyclists and walkers.
"The caller(s) were using the trail when they came upon the fire and the realization that it could be two bodies within the flames," the sheriff's office said in a news release.
Firefighters and sheriff's deputies responded to the scene and confirmed that two bodies were being burned.
Authorities are classifying the incident as a double homicide. Orange County Sheriff's Capt. Angelo Nieves said the victims were "two young males," but said that no positive identification has been made yet.
Authorities also discovered a small fire that was extinguished outside a nearby apartment complex and believe that the two fires are related.
"Based on evidence, they believe it to be associated with the crime," Nieves said, but he could not provide any details as to how authorities believe the fires are related.
Investigators are asking that anyone who has heard anything about the crimes or who may have seen something to call Crimeline at 407-423-TIPS.
"It's a well-traveled area, but at that time of the morning, there's not a lot of activity," Nieves said. "It's still somewhat dark and the area in which the bodies were located was somewhat of a wooded area."
Authorities have no suspects at this time.
A similar incident occurred in California on Sunday. A passerby saw a fire on a sidewalk in Altadena, about 15 miles northeast of Los Angeles, around 6 a.m. When he got closer, he realized the object on fire was a human body, according to ABC News' Los Angeles station KABC.
The victim, a male, was pronounced dead at the scene and autopsy results are pending.
