The discovery of a woman’s body at Altona beach this morning is not being treated as suspicious, police say.
The partially burnt body was found by a woman at 8.40am about 200 metres east of Maidstone Street.
In a statement on Monday night, police said homicide squad detectives were no longer involved in the investigation following a post mortem examination.
The unidentified woman was possibly aged in her 70s and police are asking that anyone who noticed an elderly woman in the area on Monday morning to come forward.
Police are also asking people to check on any family members or friends from the local area who are about the same age, and to contact police if they believe someone they know is missing.
Police would not provide any further detail as to how the woman came to suffer burns.
Police had sealed off Ransom Reserve and part of the Esplanade and surrounding roads after the grim discovery.
Detective Senior Sergeant Stephen McIntyre said the woman’s upper body and face was burned at the spot where she was found on the beach.
“The deceased appears to have been burnt in situ so the clothing of the dead person has burnt away,” he said.
“At this point in time we’re starting to process the scene for anything that might indicate what caused the fire.
“At this point in time we’re looking at a number of missing people but we haven’t found anyone the matches the description of the woman we’re looking at at the moment.”
He said police were assuming the fire took place on Sunday night.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential crime report to www.crimestoppersvic.com.au
