Suffolk Police are working to identify a man’s badly decomposed body found in the brush off Collins Road Thursday morning, and they believe the man had been dumped there.

A passerby was driving down the road, in the Whaleyville area, when he noticed vulture activity on the side of the road, city spokeswoman Debbie George said. The hunter, who collects antlers, got out of his vehicle to look for a deer, and found the body instead.

The body was found in brush about eight feet tall on the west side of the road. On the east side Thursday afternoon, several evidence markers sat in the grass, blocked off by crime scene tape and police vehicles.

The crime scene technicians took measurements and photos, and removed several bags of evidence. About 1:30 p.m., a body removal service came and put the man’s body — on a stretcher and draped with a red cloth — into the back of a Chevrolet Suburban.

While the technicians worked, other police officers stopped and interviewed everyone driving down the narrow road, taking notes on clipboards. No homes can be seen from the area where the body was found, which is between two curves in the road.

George said no missing persons had been reported in Suffolk around the likely time of death, which police have yet to pinpoint. An autopsy will determine how the man died. Even if he died from natural causes, the dumping of the body is a crime, George said.

Anyone who has information on the man’s identity, or about the person who may have left the body in the brush by Collins Road, is asked to call Crime Line at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP. Callers to Crime Line never have to give their names or appear in court, and may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.