Phoenix police say a homeless man was found dead in a vacant Maryvale home last night, and it's unclear how he died.

Phoenix Sergeant Trent Crump says the body of the transient man was found last night in a vacant home in the 1900 block of 69th Avenue.

The death was first reported as a shooting, but Crump says that report was based on bad second-hand information provided by the person who called 9-1-1. According to Crump, the cause of death is unknown.

The identity of the victim is also unknown -- Crump says the body was too badly decomposed to make a positive ID. All police would say about the victim is that he's a transient man in his 40s.

At this point, Crump says, the victim appears to have died from natural causes. Investigators won't be sure, however, until an autopsy is performed.

Check back for updates.

• Crime