Autopsy results: Body found in flames of minivan in wooded area of Deltona that of a man

DELTONA -- The body found in the charred remains of minivan rental found early Thursday on a dirt trail in a wooded area off Lake Helen Osteen Road is that of a man and the case is being investigated as a possible homicide.

"The Volusia County Medical Examiner's Office performed an autopsy on Thursday, but has not ruled on the cause of death," Sheriff's spokesman Gary Davidson said. "The victim is an adult male who has not yet been positively identified. However, it isn't the person who rented the minivan, as investigators have located him safe and sound."

Davidson said the Sheriff's Major Case Unit is continuing to investigate the death consistent with the methods of a homicide investigation. However, no ruling on the cause or manner of death has been made, he added.

The grisly discovery was made at 12:10 a.m. Thursday after a resident called 9-1-1 to report seeing flames shooting through the air from a distance believing it might be a brush fire. Arriving Deltona firefighters discovered the flames were coming from a minivan. Only after extinguishing the fire did they find a body.

An autopsy later in the day revealed it was that of a man, but not the person who rented the minivan, Davidson said, without elaborating.

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