Story by Jolene Almendarez and Kelsey O'Connor

ITHACA, N.Y. — A body was found at a Collegetown construction site Tuesday morning. The death is being treated as suspicious and an investigation is underway, the Ithaca Police Department said.

At 6:58 a.m. Tuesday, the Ithaca Police Department and the Ithaca Fire Department responded to an apartment complex on 200 block of Dryden Road. IFD was called regarding report a dead body in the apartment complex. There was also evidence a fire incident had occurred inside the complex, Jamie Williamson, public information officer for the Ithaca Police Department, said.

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Officers who arrived on scene found a deceased person.

"The death does appear to be suspicious in nature," Williamson said.

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At this time, the IPD is not saying whether the fire and death are related.

Three homeland security vehicles are at the scene, along with a K-9 unit, Ithaca police, New York State Police, Bangs Ambulance and the Ithaca Fire Department. The Tompkins County Sheriff's Office and the Cornell University Police Department are also assisting in the investigation.

At about 12:45 p.m. Tuesday, Bangs Ambulance personnel were seen taking out a body on a stretcher from the Breazzano Center building under construction at 209-215 Dryden Ave. The Breazzano Family Center for Business Education will house Cornell's Executive MBA program when completed.

At the same construction site, a man was injured last year as the foundation was being built. His leg was pinned to a wall and he had to be treated at a hospital for injuries.

No other information is available at this time.

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This is a developing story.

Featured image: Bangs Ambulance personnel respond to an incident in Collegetown on June 13. Kelsey O'Connor/Ithaca Voice