Red tape, flashing lights and the El Paso Police Command Center marked the scene of what police are calling a suspicious death. Police discovered the body around 7 p.m. Tuesday.

"I usually come here to some of the restaurants around here, it's always been quiet we've never had anything like this. Not in this area," said Debbie Brooks of east El Paso.

Officers told KFOX a homeless man led them to the man's body inside a tunnel in a drainage ditch near Joe Battle Boulevard and Montwood Drive. "We're treating it as a homicide until we get the autopsy results," Chris Mears, spokesman for the El Paso Police Department said.

Though it's unknown how or when he died, police said the victim’s body showed evident signs of an assault. Overnight, homicide detectives and crime scene investigators took pictures and canvassed the area looking for any evidence.

"A death or anything like that in a ditch like that, that's kind of gruesome," said Brooks, who also said she will be more alert as she travels through that area.

The victim is only being identified as a homeless man in his late 40s to early 50s.

Stay with KFOX for the latest on this developing story.