Burned body found in car at Saltair

A badly burned body was found inside a scorched vehicle near the Great Salt Lake, two miles east of Salt Air on Friday.

It was still smoldering at 11:30 Friday night behind an abandoned concrete building when Salt Lake County Sheriff's Lt. Don Hutson inspected the scene. Detectives found obvious signs of a fire accelerant.

"There were propane tanks inside," Hutson said. "Like the ones you use when you barbecue."

Hutson also found a square, one-gallon can that appeared to be a charred gasoline can, possibly used as another accelerant.

The body was too damaged from the blaze to tell its sex, but detectives are following a license plate number in an effort gain an identity.

Passing motorists along I-80 first noticed the flame late Friday and called police.

Hutson said the scene is "almost identical" to a scene in which a car burned in a campground up Big Cottonwood Canyon 12 days ago. Hutson said a woman apparently committed suicide inside her vehicle.

Investigators used a partial license plate number to find her identification.

Although Friday's incident appears to be a suicide, authorities are investigating it as a homicide, Hutson said.

E-mail: jhancock@desnews.com