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 Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office deputies are investigating the death of a man whose body was found burned near a charred truck as a homicide. 

Two Rio Grande Valley drivers discovered man's burned body some 25 feet away from a charred truck near Donna Lake on Saturday afternoon.

“We’re not able to tell without an autopsy whether he actually died in the vehicle and was dragged out, was on fire, ran out and then expired on the ground," Treviño said.

He said the call came in just past 1 p.m. Sautrday when deputies responded to the discovery on Valley View Road, next to the Donna Reservoir. 

"We did note that there was some type of wounds in his back and part of his face," Sheriff Treviño added.

Sources close to the case said the man in his thirties was stabbed seven times, five in the back and two in the front. 

They also said investigators believe he was beaten before being set on fire.

Those are claims that arson investigators will be in charge of verifying, using an arson dog and other means. 

"That dog is going to be able to tell us if number an accelerant was used and if it was used at what point the fire originated at," he explained. 

Sheriff Treviño said that it will take them a few days to piece everything together. 

At this time, deputies are still trying to verify the man's identity.

Once they confirm the man identity, they will backtrack to see where he was seen during the last few hours he was alive. 

"We do have an ID on the individual but were not going to be able to release it until we verify that that is him and were probably do that through dental records or fingerprints," Treviño said. 

The body was taken to a local funeral home and an autopsy has been ordered.