POLICE are investigating after a man was found dead near a burning car in a quiet North Vancouver neighbourhood late Wednesday night.
There are reports that the man was shot in the head, but police have not confirmed that.
The man's body was apparently discovered by police in a wooded area near the end of a cul-de-sac on Rondoval Crescent sometime around 11: 30 p.m.
Police and firefighters had raced to the upper Delbrook neighbourhood between 10 and 10: 30 p.m. after a darkcoloured Honda parked at end of the street exploded into flames.
Jindra Casperson said she was walking her dog at around 10: 20 p.m. when she heard an explosion. "It was at the end the street. There was an explosion. I saw smoke and fire come up," she said.
Casperson said she raced home and told her husband to bring a fire extinguisher but by the time they got close "the whole thing was in flames."
Casperson said it looked like fireworks going off inside the car. "It was totally exploding and shooting," she said.
"It looks like someone drove the car up, turned it around, lit it on fire, then I'm assuming took off to the bushes."
Casperson described the vehicle as "a pretty nice high-end car."
Firefighters raced to the scene and doused the burning car. It wasn't until close to 11: 30 p.m. that police found the man's body in the wooded area, according to a neighbour.
Police remained tight-lipped about the incident on Thursday.
Investigators - who remained on the scene Thursday afternoon - are being cautious and haven't ruled out suicide, said Cpl. Richard De Jong, spokesman for the North Vancouver RCMP. "Whether it's foul play, a targeted hit, random . . . they're not ruling out anything."
The North Vancouver detachment is "consulting with" the Lower Mainland's Integrated Homicide Investigation Team, which probes suspected murders, but for now the local detachment remains in charge of the case, he said.
Eve Geulen, another neighbour, said the car wasn't at the end of the street earlier in the evening when her husband was out walking their dog around 8 p.m. But it's not unknown for people to park there. "Kids smoke dope or people meet there," said Geulen. "It's a wooded little area."
Casperson said she's heard of the cul de sac being used as a getaway by people who park there, then run through the woods and come out on another street.
Neighbours said police remained on the scene all night, combing the area with flashlights. Police dogs were also seen in the area, they said.
Police have identified the man found and notified next of kin, said De Jong but are not releasing a name or other details about the victim.
See www.nsnews.com for updates.
