AUBURN - Officials closed a lane of Interstate 290 after a body was found in a wooded area on the eastbound side close to the Worcester line Tuesday morning.

The Worcester district attorney's office declined to release details in the case Tuesday afternoon.

A Massachusetts State Police spokesman confirmed a deceased man was found. State troopers, along with Auburn police and fire personnel, were at the scene for hours and closed off the far right lane to traffic before the Hope Avenue exit in Worcester. Police tape lined a portion of the highway guardrail.

Down the hill from the highway, on Sword Street, a trooper stood guard over the body near an access road in the back of the Auburn Park Offices. The officer said the body was approximately 100 yards inside the forested area there. The crime scene was at a standstill for several hours in the afternoon, with a fire truck and a Massachusetts Department of Transportation vehicle on site.

Business staff and owners inside the office park said they were unaware of the developing situation outside. The access road runs along a body of water, over from Sword Street to Pheasant Court.