Montgomery County police are investigating the death of a man whose body was found Tuesday in Wheaton Regional Park.
Police announced Saturday morning that they received a report Tuesday about a body at the park on 11715 Orebaugh Ave. and found the body of an adult man there, according to a press release.
Police would not say Saturday exactly where the body was located.
On Friday, yellow police tape marked off a grassy area behind a post fence just off the main parking lot in the section of the park at the end of Shorefield Road off Georgia Avenue. The Shorefield area is popular with visitors and offers a carousel in addition to a miniature train station, picnic shelters and a playground. Police would not confirm whether the cordoned area was related to the death investigation.
Police spokesman Capt. Paul Starks said Friday that police did not announce news of the body earlier because detectives believed it could be harmful to the investigation.
Detectives from the Major Crimes division are investigating the discovery of the body, but did not release any further information Saturday. Police ask anyone with information to call detectives at 240-773-5070.
In June, two men reportedly were violently beaten by several members of MS-13 gang, a criminal group with a growing presence in the county, in another incident at the park, according to an ABC7 report.
The two men were able to escape the attack after two park patrons happened upon the assault, according to the news report.
The body found Tuesday is the second body found in a public park in the area that police have announced this week. On Thursday, police announced that a body of a man was found Wednesday in a stream in Long Branch-Arliss Neighborhood Park in Silver Spring. Police since identified the man as Cristopher Alfredo Funes Guerra, a 20-year-old from Silver Spring.
Update: Police said no further information about the body or the investigation was available Monday morning.