BANGOR – Police and firefighters investigating a report of a fire along a Harlow Street bridge early Tuesday evening made a gruesome discovery – a body lying facedown on the embankment being consumed by flames.

“The person is deceased, and now it is a crime scene until determined further” by the Criminal Investigation Division, said Bangor police Sgt. Donald Gagner, among the first to arrive at the bridge that crosses Kenduskeag Stream between Mill and Nelson streets.

The identity of the body, discovered shortly before 6 p.m., as well as what caused the man’s death and the fire remained under investigation.

Detective Lt. Tim Reid said that a cause of death would have to await an autopsy by the state medical examiner’s office, which could take place as soon as today. The body was removed late Tuesday night from the bridge and was to be taken to Augusta for the autopsy.

Reid would not comment on a report that an accelerant was used. The death is being investigated jointly by the Bangor Police Department and the State Fire Marshal’s Office.

Earlier in the evening, in the cold, clear dark, lights from a fire engine, police cruisers and a street lamp illuminated the section of the bridge closest to the downtown, where the body was found, about halfway down the embankment.

Minutes earlier it was a very different scene.

With heavy smoke coming from the vicinity of the bridge, Gagner joined firefighters in searching for the source. Gagner peered over one side of the two-lane bridge and saw flames about 2 feet high, surrounding a large human form.

“I saw a pair of white sneakers at the base of the feet, and flames were all around,” Gagner said. “It was not a pretty sight.”

The smoke coming from the bridge caught the attention of a passing motorist who called police.

Firefighters moved quickly to douse the flames, taking as much care as possible to minimize the intrusion into what – until detectives determine otherwise – was considered a crime scene.

“It was difficult to get in there and preserve the scene and extinguish the flames,” Gagner said.

Barricades were quickly set up on the Nelson Street side of the bridge and at the intersection of Harlow Street and Kenduskeag Avenue, rerouting traffic during the busy commuting hour.

Closer to the bridge, a police cruiser blocked the way in case unwary motorists tried to bypass the barricades near Kenduskeag Avenue.

The investigation widened as the night progressed, extending from the confines of the bridge to a stretch of Harlow Street headed toward the downtown.

At about 8:20 p.m., a half-dozen police officers, spread out along the road and sidewalk, walked slowly down Harlow Street past Intown Plaza and the Penquis CAP building, toward the Margaret Chase Smith Federal Building.

Their eyes were focused on the road as their flashlights illuminated their search.

Investigators remained at the scene late Tuesday night, and they were expected to pick up this morning where they left off.