Modesto detectives search for clues in death of woman found near Claus Road

Modesto Police Department detectives returned Wednesday to the location where a woman’s body was discovered in bushes along Claus Road the day before.

An autopsy was performed on the woman Wednesday but, due to the condition of her body, she could not be identified and her cause of death remains under investigations.

The woman’s body had “been out there for some time” before it was discovered Tuesday behind oleander bushes on a 1.4-acre property with an old vacant house north of Merle Avenue, said department spokeswoman Heather Graves.

Detectives processed the scene when the body was discovered Tuesday but returned Wednesday to search for additional clues with the help of the department’s Street Gangs Unit and the Modesto Fire Department, which brought tools to cut back the bushes and other overgrown vegetation. Detectives also used metal detectors at the scene.

Graves said detectives were searching for any other evidence that might shed light on how she died.

Because the body was found along a main thoroughfare not normally known to attract transients, detectives are working to determine if there is anything suspicious about the death.

This story was originally published April 5, 2017 at 5:12 PM with the headline "Modesto detectives search for clues in death of woman found near Claus Road."