Man's body with gunshot wound found at Beale gate

The Air Force Office of Special Investigations is looking into circumstances surrounding a man's body found with a gunshot wound beside a car outside the main residential area of Beale Air Force Base.

Air Force personnel were notified about the discovery at about 1 p.m. Sunday.

"The body was visible to traffic, so it obviously wasn't there too long," said Capt. Brian Wagoner, spokesman for 9th Reconnaissance Wing.

Identification was found at the scene. Its connection to the body has not yet been confirmed, and the name has not been released.

Wagoner said the person appears to have had no direct connection to the base or the military, and is not from the immediate area.

Foul play, he said, is not suspected.

The discovery site, between 200 and 300 yards outside the Vassar Lake Gate, according to Wagoner, is technically within the boundaries of Beale.

The Vassar Lake Gate is east of the Wheatland Gate.

"It's not a high-traffic gate. It normally just services base housing," he said.

The guard structure at the gate was manned at the time of the discovery, but Wagoner said no one working at the location heard a gunshot.

The gate has been closed pending further notice.