Authorities on Friday said someone used gasoline to try and burn the body of Mitzie B. Galimidi, which was found earlier this week along Sweetlake Camp Road in Cameron Parish.

Sheriff Ron Johnson said the State Fire Marshal’s Office told investigators that although an attempt was made to burn the body at the scene, the rain likely prevented it and the body was intact.

Johnson said the 32-year-old woman was already dead when she was brought to the scene.

“There were minimal burns,” Johnson said. “Whoever did this was likely trying to destroy evidence.”

He said the cause of death was still undetermined and it was also unknown whether her death was a homicide.

Galimidi’s body was spotted by a school bus driver who saw it in tall grass along the shoulder of the road around 7:15 a.m. Wednesday.

“It’s a tragedy,” said Johnson.

He said authorities from Calcasieu Parish and Cameron Parish are continuing to investigate the death.

Johnson said investigators are also waiting on toxicology reports as well as autopsy results from the coroner’s office.

He said it appeared that the body had been at the location where it was found for less than 24 hours.

Johnson said it is a crime to engage in “illegal dumping of a body” and that investigators are still looking into what might have transpired in Galimidi’s death and how she ended up at that location.

Anyone with information on Galimidi’s death is asked to call the Cameron Parish Sheriff’s Office, at 337-775-5111.

Mitzi Galimidi