The discovery of a woman's body in Royal Park has terrible echoes of killings that have shocked Melbourne in the past year.

Her body was found on Saturday morning by dogwalkers in a bushed area behind logs, close to busy Elliott Avenue, in the 181-hectare expanse of public land in Parkville just north of the city centre.

A killer is on the run after a woman's body was found in Royal Park on Saturday morning. Credit:ninevms

Melbourne's largest public park, Royal Park is a site that is frequented by many, including rough sleepers.

News of the woman's death has again pricked the fears of women online: "I came home from work this way," one wrote on Saturday. "How scary".