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Public Safety

Dog Walker Finds Man's Body In Oceanside Park

Police are investigating the death of a man whose beaten body was found at Buddy Todd Park in Oceanside, Feb. 16, 2015.
10News
Police are investigating the death of a man whose beaten body was found at Buddy Todd Park in Oceanside, Feb. 16, 2015.

A man walking his dog made a gruesome discovery early Monday when he came upon a man's body in an Oceanside park, police said.

The body, which bore signs of blunt force trauma, was found on the northern edge of Buddy Todd Park at 2800 Mesa Drive about 5:45 a.m., Oceanside police Lt. Leonard Cosby said.

Police identified the man as Mustafa Gordon, 24, of Oceanside. Cosby said there were "minimal leads" regarding Gordon's death.

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Bill Stone discovered the body. He told 10News: "I said, ‘Oh man, that's a human being.' I shined the light on his face, it was all red. … He wasn't breathing at all.”

Parts of the park were closed while detectives combed it for evidence. It was not clear where the attack occurred or what kind of weapon was used, police said.

The man’s body was discovered close to a truck, which was the only vehicle in park's parking lot at the time Stone notified authorities, police said.

“It looks to be the person was there for several hours, not for a day. ... The trauma seems to be localized to the face," Cosby said.

Anyone with information about the incident was asked to call police at (760) 435-4911.

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