Detectives investigating homicide in rural Madera County

A driver traveling down a dirt road in Madera County on Friday morning saw something out of the ordinary behind this home. He called 911 after realizing it was a body.

Vineyards and a few scattered buildings make up the barren landscape around Avenue 9 and Road 22.

So when a call came in about a death, detectives say they were immediately suspicious.

"It's a very rural area, not very much traffic, the house they found him behind was abandoned, nobody was living in it," says Tyson Pogue on the Madera County Sheriff's Office.

Pogue says the victim appeared to be deliberately hidden.

His name hasn't been released, but they believe he was in his 20s or 30s.

His body has visible injuries.

"It's very important that if anybody saw any vehicles that were parked in the area or anything they thought was out of the ordinary, even the smallest details might be important," Pogue says.

Detectives worked fast to gather evidence Friday before an oncoming storm blew in.

"It's definitely a more difficult one with the lack of witnesses and it's in a very remote area."

Deputies say the timeframe they're focusing on is between Thursday afternoon and Friday morning.

With no surveillance video, they're relying heavily on clues left at the scene and help from observant drivers who may have passed by.