Potential buyers were touring an abandoned home. They found a body in a shallow grave

A realtor and potential buyers were touring a 1,000-square-foot house in a rural part of Florida when they found something odd in the backyard.

Once they got closer, they realized what it was — a shallow grave with decomposing human remains.

Police arrived to the property in Groveland, Florida, around 6 p.m. Saturday after receiving a call about a body buried in a wooded area behind a house, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

"Deputies responded very quickly and they met with a real estate agent and some potential buyers who were there looking at the property, which is up for sale,” John Herrell, from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, said to WFTV9. “As they walked the property and were looking at it, they found these remains about 30 to 40 feet behind the residence there that is on the property."

The unidentified victim is a woman, police say, but it is unknown how she died or how she ended up on the property, according to WFTV9. Police confirmed the body was in a state of decomposition, but did not provide any further information.

The property, which spans nearly five acres, has been abandoned for the past seven or eight years. The owner currently lives in North Florida.

Herrell said the remote location of the body suggests the killer might be acquainted with the house or the wooded area behind it.

"You would have to be familiar with that area or really get lucky because it's a very heavily wooded area in a remote location,” Herrell said. “The home actually sits at least a quarter of a mile off of Douglas Road, so it's way back in the woods."

It is not known how long the body had been buried on the property.

This story was originally published August 22, 2017 at 5:05 AM with the headline "Potential buyers were touring an abandoned home. They found a body in a shallow grave."