Firefighters Find Body After Extinguishing Burning Car

LAWRENCEVILLE (KDKA) -- A burned out car was towed away from the crime scene on Donson Way on Sunday morning.

Firefighters were called after someone saw thick black smoke over a wooded area on a hillside overlooking the 62nd Street Bridge in Lawrenceville.

"It was not a house or a building, there was a car that was on fire it was in a grassy area away from a lot of homes," said Public Safety Spokeswoman Sonya Toler.

A short time later firefighters found the body of 33-year-old Gordan Johnson, the car's owner, in the grass nearby.

The burned out car was found at the end of Donson Way on private property on the other side of a vacant house. Police are still investigating how the murder unfolded, but they are certain that whoever committed the crime knew about the isolated area.

Johnson's relatives began showing up at the scene, they said he had been missing since Friday and were saddened and horrified by the news of his death.

Family members say Johnson had just bought the car a few days ago. The medical examiner will conduct an autopsy on Monday to determine the cause of death.

Anyone with information is asked to call Pittsburgh Police.

UPDATE (8/15) -- Johnson's cause of death was determined to be a gunshot wound to the chest and upper left extremity. 

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