LAKE COUNTY, Fla. -- Investigators say a man walking his dog discovered a body on the side of a Lake County road Wednesday. Eyewitness News obtained the 911 call from the man who found the body.

"I was just walking my dog and I found a body," said the caller to the 911 operator.

The body was discovered around 10:00am in a wooded area off CR-48 and Mount Bethel Baptist Church Road in Okahumpka (see map). The Lake County Sheriff's Office says they are treating it as a suspicious death.

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911 CALL: Man Calls For Help
AT THE SCENE: Man Finds Body In Wooded Area

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Lake County sheriff's detective Butch Perdue said he picked up a key piece of evidence in the woods, a purple cap.

"There's no logo on it whatsoever. It's well worn, as you can tell. The size of the hat appears to be very small," said Perdue.

Detectives believe it belonged to the person found dead a few yards of a dirt path that runs through the woods. They believe the body may have been at the location for a few days because there are signs of decomposition.

Investigators have not determined the age or gender of the body. The Medical Examiner's Office arrived at the scene Wednesday afternoon and removed the body.

Investigators say they aren't sure how the victim ended up in the wooded area. CR-48 is very busy by day, but neighbors say at night it's nearly deserted.

"So, if anybody wanted to pull over or anything like that, it would be pitched black out there, right?" asked WFTV reporter Berndt Petersen.

"Yeah," said resident Susan Connell.

Detectives say they want to know how the person died and figure out who the victim was. They hope somebody would know by the purple hat.

"Did the victim have it on, or was it just in the area?" asked Petersen.

"It appeared the victim had it on at one time. Not proven yet, but we believe this was the victim's hat," replied Perdue.

An autopsy is scheduled for Thursday.