ADDIS - A burned body was found in an Addis sugarcane field along Sid Richardson Road on Wednesday afternoon.

Cane farmer Troy Canella told WBRZ that he saw black smoke in a neighboring field around 3 p.m. He called the owner, who said the crop should not be on fire.

The farmer and his brother ran to the field and tried to control the flames. In the rush to prevent the fire from spreading, the farmer stepped next to a body.

"I walked out and called him and said 'I know why the cane's on fire,'" Canella said.

He said the body was in a ditch between two fields, covered in broken pieces of sugarcane. Canella says he believes it could have been there for days.

The West Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office is leading the homicide investigation. Deputies arrived around 4 p.m. Canella estimates whoever set the field on fire would have been there about ten minutes before he and his brother arrived.

East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's deputies are assisting.

Deputies said it's unclear if the victim is a man or a woman and the body was burned beyond recognition. Plaquemine Police Chief Stephen Engolio said it is highly likely that the body is related to a missing person's case but law enforcement officers are still waiting for positive identification from a medical examiner.