ALTADENA — The body of a man, set on fire, was discovered early Sunday on Windsor Avenue in Altadena.

The death was first reported about 6 a.m. in the 2600 block of North Windsor Avenue, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department officials said in a written statement.

“Detectives have learned that a passerby saw a burning object on the sidewalk. Upon closer investigation, they realized the object was a human body and called 9-1-1,” said Deputy Lillian Peck of the Sheriff’s Headquarter’s Bureau.

“Altadena Sheriff’s Station deputies and Los Angeles County Fire Department personnel responded to the location and confirmed the burned victim was a male adult,” Peck said. “The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.”

The body was initially identified only as that of a black man, Lt. Matt Burson of the Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau said. The charred condition of the remains prevented officials from initially being able to determine the age of the man.

Los Angeles County Department of Coroner’s investigators will perform an autopsy to determine how the man died, Burson said. There were no bullet casings or other signs that a shooting had taken place at the spot where the body was found.

The body lied in a fetal position on the sidewalk lining the east side of Windsor Avenue.

Investigators also focused attention on a red Mazda sedan that was found parked in the street next to the body.

“We’re trying to determine if this car was, in fact, involved,” Burson said.

Neighbors didn’t report seeing or hearing anything unusual before the body was discovered, and said they were shocked to see their normally tranquil foothill neighborhood transformed into a crime scene.

Anyone with information was asked to contact the Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau at 323-890-5500. Tips can also be left anonymously by calling L.A. Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477.