Police said the body was badly decomposed and no public threat had been found.
MELBOURNE, FL — Police are investigating after a body was found Tuesday afternoon on the roof of an unoccupied building on Sarno Road in Melbourne, authorities said.
The discovery has left investigators with basic questions still unanswered. The Melbourne Police Department said the person’s age and gender could not be identified because of decomposition. Police also said it was not yet clear whether the death was suspicious. No threat to the public had been found as the investigation continued.
Police said the call came in around 3:22 p.m. Tuesday after a neighbor reported an odor that had been lingering for about one week near the Sarno Road property. The neighbor first believed the smell came from a dead animal, police said. The person used a ladder to climb onto the roof and found the body there. Officers then responded to the building and began a death investigation. Police said the building was unoccupied at the time of the discovery.
The condition of the body made the first stage of the investigation difficult. Police said they could not immediately determine whether the person was male or female, or how old the person was. Authorities also did not release a name, a possible cause of death or an estimated time of death. The location on the roof raised questions about how the person got there, but police did not announce any finding on that point. Investigators had not said whether there were signs of injury, forced entry or a fall.
The case centers on Sarno Road, a busy corridor in Melbourne that runs through a mix of commercial areas, older properties and nearby neighborhoods. The building where the body was found was described by police as unoccupied, which can slow a discovery if few people are entering the property each day. In this case, police said the report came only after the odor had continued for about a week. The neighbor’s decision to check the roof led to the discovery and the police response.
The next steps are expected to focus on identification and cause of death. Police did not announce any arrest, suspect or charge. Investigators also did not say whether the medical examiner had completed an examination. In death investigations where identity is not clear, authorities often work through medical records, dental records, fingerprints, missing-person reports and other evidence before releasing a name. Police described the case as active and did not give a date for the next public update.
Police said there was no threat to the public at the time of the announcement, a detail meant to separate the active investigation from any known wider danger. Still, the unusual location of the body and the level of decomposition kept the case open-ended. Officers had not publicly said whether they were reviewing nearby cameras, speaking with additional witnesses or searching the building for evidence. The department’s first account remained limited to the reported odor, the roof search and the discovery.
The investigation remained open Wednesday, with police working to identify the person and determine how the person died. No additional details about the building, the person found or the circumstances of the death had been released.
Author note: Last updated May 20, 2026.