RICHMOND ? Authorities are investigating the suspicious death of a person found in a burned-out vehicle along a rural road in eastern Kansas.

Deputies say they found a body in the charred vehicle in a ditch at 11:50 p.m. Wednesday two miles west of Richmond, in Franklin County. An autopsy was to be held Thursday to determine the victim’s gender, age and identity.

Sheriff Craig Davis said in a news release that the death is being investigated as suspicious.

Deputies and firefighters said they arrived to find the burned-out wreckage and a grass fire surrounding the car. The fire was put out and the body was discovered.

The Kansas State Fire Marshall’s Office and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation are assisting county authorities with the investigation.