2 boys playing near MID substation make grim discovery of body in bushes in Modesto

The Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department is investigating a suspicious death after two boys playing near an MID electrical substation found a man's body in the bushes there late Thursday afternoon.

The two boys were playing in a dirt area outside the station at Yosemite Boulevard and Yosemite Meadows Drive in Modesto, just east of Claus Road, around 5 p.m. when they made the discovery, Sheriff's Sgt. Hector Longoria said.

According to 11-year-old Noah Gutierrez, he and a friend were playing near the bushes when they saw the man's feet. Noah went into the bushes to see if the man was OK and saw there were scratches on his back. He tried to wake the man, asking if he was OK, and when there was no response the two boys went to a house across the street and told a neighbor standing in his front yard about what they'd seen. The neighbor then called 911.

While MPD was first on the scene, officers turned the matter over to the Sheriff's Department based on jurisdiction area.

The body appeared to be that of a Caucasian male, Longoria said. No further information was available about the man or cause of death Thursday evening.