A male body was found in a Long Island woodland in what investigators say may be a gang-related death.
Police searched a heavily wooded 27-acre preserve in Roosevelt, about 20 miles east of Brooklyn, for two days before they found the body on Friday, CBS Local reports.
A source told CBS that the MS-13 gang, which has allegedly been responsible for more than 20 deaths across Long Island in the past two years, might be responsible.
Police were led to the scene by a tip from a person of interest in a federal investigation.
The body of a male individual was found in a 27-acre woodland preserve in Roosevelt, Long Island, New York on Friday
Police continue to search the scene, potentially for more human remains
The individual told Homeland Security officials that a body might be found in the preserve near West Greenwich Avenue and Wilbur Lane, ABC7 reports.
The body has not been identified.
‘We don’t know who this person is right now, so we don’t know anything about his past or who he’s associated with,’ Detective Steven Fitzpatrick said at a news conference.
Police are still searching the area, potentially for more remains. One detective broke his ankle while conducting a search.
It was not clear how long the body had been on the site, police said.
One woman told NBC New York that she believes that police were looking for her son, who she believes was disappeared by MS-13.
Authorities plan to continue searching the area over the following days.
Ms-13 is a notorious Central American street gang famed for its heavily tattooed members and torturing its victims.
As well as shootings, MS-13 is known to kill its victims with baseball bats and machetes.
Police and federal investigators believe they have a presence in 40 states as well as Mexico, Canada and Spain.
A person of interest tipped Homeland Security officers off to the existence of the body