A female body has been found Thursday morning in Goleta, according to the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Department.
Crime scene investigators and a forensics unit are on the scene at the intersection of Calle Real and Plumas Avenue, where a body was found off the roadway, according to Sgt. Alex Tipolt, a spokesman for the Sheriff’s Department.
There is no indication yet of the age of the deceased, or who it is, Tipolt said. He got a phone call around 11:30 a.m. about the discovery, but he isn’t sure when authorities were first notified. He also doesn’t know who found the body.
A 14-year-old Goleta resident, Christina Veloz-Payne, was last seen by her friends at around 8 p.m. Monday. She was attending the fireworks display at Girsch Park, less than a mile from where the body was found Thursday. Tipolt, however, has not said whether this body could be that of Veloz-Payne.
Tipolt hadn’t been fully briefed on details of the case and had no further information just before 1 p.m.
Stay tuned to independent.com for further details as they become available.