Santa Barbara Police investigate suspicious death near Stearns Wharf

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The Santa Barbara Police Department was investigating the suspicious death of a homeless woman who was found near Stearns Wharf on Monday morning, according to the Santa Barbara Police Department.

The department received a report of an unresponsive woman lying in the parking lot of Surf N Wear's Beach House located on the first block of State Street, near the intersection of State and Cabrillo Boulevard, around 7:20 a.m., said Sgt. Ethan Ragsdale.

When officers and paramedics arrived on the scene, the woman – who police identified as a homeless woman potentially in her lates 40s or early 50s – was declared dead and "lifesaving measures would not be effective in attempting to resuscitate her," Ragsdale added.

The death appeared to be suspicious in nature, and detectives were on the scene as of 10:50 a.m. working with forensics teams to investigate the death, according to Ragsdale.

State Street between Cabrillo Boulevard and Mason Street was closed to cars, pedestrians, and bicyclists for nearly eight hours from 7:20 a.m. until just after 4 p.m.

The investigation remained active and no other information was currently available.

News Channel 3-12 will update this story as more information comes in.