CAYUGA - The Cayuga County Sheriff's Office is investigating an apparent suicide of a 22-year-old California man whose body was found in a parked car near the Lakeview Cemetery in Cayuga with signs posted in the windows Wednesday warning of a hazardous material inside.
Chet Susslin / The Citizen
Emergency vehicles block traffic while investigating a call of a suspicious car parked at Lakeview Cemetery in Cayuga on Wednesday afternoon. Responders found an unresponsive person inside and a note alluding to a possible liquid hazardous material.
Emergency vehicles block traffic while investigating a call of a suspicious car parked at Lakeview Cemetery in Cayuga on Wednesday afternoon. Responders found an unresponsive person inside and a note alluding to a possible liquid hazardous material.
Cayuga County Sheriff David Gould said deputies responding to a 911 call for a suspicious vehicle parked near the cemetery found a handwritten note alerting authorities that a hazardous liquid material was inside the car.
Gould would not elaborate on the handwritten note, but said hazmat teams spent several hours investigating how to safely enter the vehicle in order to check on the Berkeley, Calif., resident's status.
“There was a written note in the window and it made the deputy very cautious due to the wording,” Gould said.
According to a press release issued by the sheriff's office, the hazardous material was removed from the vehicle and did not pose a risk to the community.
Deputies would not identify the material other than to say it is readily available over the counter.
The body was transported to the Onondaga County Medical Examiner's Office for an autopsy.
It was unclear why the man came to Cayuga, deputies said.
Crews responded to the scene just after 11:30 a.m. and shut down a section of Lake Street between Annin Street and Manitau Road.
The car, which is registered in California, was parked at the edge of the cemetery property along Lake Street, prompting emergency officials to evacuate some nearby homes, Gould said.
Officials believe the car had been parked near the cemetery since 7 p.m. Tuesday, deputies said.
Union Springs Central School District superintendent Linda Rice said she received a call from Gould at approximately 1:30 p.m. to let her know that no traffic - including buses - would be allowed to pass through the closed section of Lake Street.
“He assured me that there is absolutely no danger to the schools or the kids,” Rice said. “We followed the directions of the sheriff's office.”
The school's principal called the parents of six to eight students whose school bus routes included Lake Street. Parents were told to pick up their children at the school, as their buses would not be able to travel their regular routes.
In most cases, parents already knew about the incident and the closed road, Rice said.
Some of the students were picked up at the end of the school day, while at least one waited at the school for parents to get out of work.
There was no lock-down procedure at the elementary because the sheriff said there was no need for one, Rice said.
Gould would not elaborate on the handwritten note, but said hazmat teams spent several hours investigating how to safely enter the vehicle in order to check on the Berkeley, Calif., resident's status.
“There was a written note in the window and it made the deputy very cautious due to the wording,” Gould said.
According to a press release issued by the sheriff's office, the hazardous material was removed from the vehicle and did not pose a risk to the community.
Deputies would not identify the material other than to say it is readily available over the counter.
The body was transported to the Onondaga County Medical Examiner's Office for an autopsy.
It was unclear why the man came to Cayuga, deputies said.
Crews responded to the scene just after 11:30 a.m. and shut down a section of Lake Street between Annin Street and Manitau Road.
The car, which is registered in California, was parked at the edge of the cemetery property along Lake Street, prompting emergency officials to evacuate some nearby homes, Gould said.
Officials believe the car had been parked near the cemetery since 7 p.m. Tuesday, deputies said.
Union Springs Central School District superintendent Linda Rice said she received a call from Gould at approximately 1:30 p.m. to let her know that no traffic - including buses - would be allowed to pass through the closed section of Lake Street.
“He assured me that there is absolutely no danger to the schools or the kids,” Rice said. “We followed the directions of the sheriff's office.”
The school's principal called the parents of six to eight students whose school bus routes included Lake Street. Parents were told to pick up their children at the school, as their buses would not be able to travel their regular routes.
In most cases, parents already knew about the incident and the closed road, Rice said.
Some of the students were picked up at the end of the school day, while at least one waited at the school for parents to get out of work.
There was no lock-down procedure at the elementary because the sheriff said there was no need for one, Rice said.
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