Police ID man found dead in Rock Creek Park

WASHINGTON — D.C. police do not know if a man found stabbed in Rock Creek Park Monday night was actually attacked in the park.

Police say they have no suspects in the killing of a man now identified as 49-year-old Matias Molina of Northwest Washington.

A passerby discovered the man by the creek bed near Beach Drive and Joyce Road in Northwest around 6 p.m. It is a highly visible, well-patrolled area, says U.S. Park Police Maj. Keith Horton.

Capt. Robert Alder with the Metropolitan Police Department says the investigation continued in the park Tuesday.

“We did go back out there today with a group of cadets from the police academy to do a walk-through of the entire scene to attempt to locate any evidence that may be on the scene that we did not see due to last night’s lighting conditions, and also to make sure that we were able to cover a large area,” he says.

Alder wouldn’t say what investigators found during the search or if the murder weapon was recovered. Police say Molina may have been killed elsewhere, and that he didn’t appear to be a jogger.

Rock Creek Park is not frequently the site of violent crime, and police say they consider the area safe. There is a $25,000 reward in the case for information leading to an arrest and conviction.

See a map of the area where the body was found below:


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The Associated Press contributed to this report. Follow @WTOP on Twitter.

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