 LANCASTER (CBSLA) — Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Homicide Detectives were dispatched to a Lancaster business following reports that a body was found just outside the premises — in a pillar. The plumber and the store's handyman broke off some of the brick from the column and found a leg and shoe inside, Corina said.He added that authorities are in the process of recovering the body and identifying it. “When they did that,” says LA County Sheriff’s Homicide Department spokesman Lt. John Corina, “they looked down and they could see a shoe and a leg down there at the bottom of the column – inside the column.” 
 
 The grim discovery was made around 2:40 p.m. officials said. The latest on investigation at 11pm @ABC7 pic.twitter.com/zfnu02RjyU — Leanne Suter (@abc7leanne) August 12, 2018 
 
 A decomposing body was found inside the entrance column of a supermarket in Lancaster on Saturday, and investigators believe it may be a chase suspect who escaped authorities earlier this week.Los Angeles County sheriff's homicide detectives responded to a WinCo Foods store in the 700 block of West Avenue K at approximately 2:40 p.m., according to sheriff's officials.LASD Lt. John Corina said the manager of the store smelled a strong odor from the column in front of the business. They believed that man ran into the WinCo and believe at some point he must have gotten into the crawl space before falling into the pillar. They shut the whole thing down," described witness Henry Oliver.Investigators said after he got on the roof, they didn't see or hear any signs of the suspect and assumed he had managed to escape. "He got out of the car, ran in, ran up the steps... and somehow got on the roof, and last I heard he got away. #breaking A horror film come to life in #lancaster after decomposing body is found inside entrance column of a supermarket.#lasd detectives believe it may be suspect who led deputies on foot chase Monday & disappeared on the roof. He ran into the WinCo store and onto the roof, but deputies were not able to locate him.There is access on the roof to the fascia of the store and down into the column, Corina said. It's a strange development, and if he died that way, it's a horrible way to die," Corina added.The store was expected to stay closed as the investigation continued and as crews worked to extricate the body.Anyone with information was encouraged to contact the LASD Homicide Bureau at (323) 890-5500. If you prefer to provide information anonymously, you may call "Crime Stoppers" by dialing (800) 222-TIPS (8477).
– A strong smell outside a California supermarket turned out to be someone who had decomposed in one of the store's entrance columns, ABC 7 reports. Police were called Saturday to the WinCo Foods in Lancaster after a plumber, told it was likely a septic problem, helped knock brick from the column and saw a shoe and a leg inside. "It's been over 100 degrees up here every day," says LA County Sheriff's Lt. John Corina. "I can't imagine being inside that column and just baking. It's a strange development, and if he died that way, it's a horrible way to die." Police say the victim may be a man who was stopped for a fake license plate Monday night, NBC Los Angeles reports. He crashed the vehicle, ran away from deputies, and got into the supermarket. The man "ran up the steps where the managers [are]," an eyewitness tells CBS Los Angeles. "And somehow he got on the roof. Last I heard, he got away." From up there, he could have reached the store fascia and descended into the column. Whether he died from the fall or baked inside is unclear; he was found on his feet with an arm stuck behind his head. "I saw some gooey liquid and it smelled really foul ... it was oozing out of the pillar onto the pavement," says a witness. "It smelled like death."