Update: The woman's death is no longer considered suspicious, police say.

Police are investigating a suspicious death after the body of a middle-aged woman was found in Saanich’s Rutledge Park Monday morning.

Police cordoned off part of the park after the body was found on a park bench by someone walking through the area shortly before 8:30 a.m.

Detectives and forensic investigators were on scene behind police tape throughout the morning.

Police spokeswoman Sgt. Julie Fast said the woman has not been identified and her cause of death isn’t known yet.

"The coroner service is involved, they're going to be doing the autopsy, and they're going to determine the exact cause of death, so what that is at this point, I can't speculate," she said.

Fast said police are still investigating and consider the death suspicious.

"It's incredibly sad." Fast added. "Nobody wants to pass away, you know, in that kind of circumstance, however she did pass away."

Doug Kitson lives in the area and said he walked through the park around 12:30 a.m., and there was no sign of the body.

When Kiston walked through the park again at 6:50 a.m. Monday, he noticed the body under a blanket on a bench.

He nearly approached the bench, but decided not to.

"No one has ever slept in the park before, so that was a little odd. It made me kind of want to approach the person. but I just let them be," he said.

By 11:45 a.m. a coroner had removed the body, police tape was removed, and the entire park was reopened to the public.

Anyone with information about the death is asked to contact Saanich police.