A car towed from a Brooklyn Park retail parking lot with a body inside drew authorities late Monday morning to a wrecker lot near downtown Minneapolis in what authorities are characterizing as "a possible homicide."

A vehicle from the Hennepin County medical examiner's office was called to Wrecker Services at Glenwood and Lyndale Avenues. Officials were there scrutinizing the car, a gold Lexus with its trunk open.

A body bag was loaded onto a gurney and placed into the medical examiner's vehicle, which then pulled out of the lot.

There is no immediate word on the identity of the body or the circumstances behind the death.

A woman who owned the car showed documents to the Star Tribune and said she sold the vehicle in January to a man who does detailing work. The man said he intended to fix it up for his girlfriend, according to the woman.

The woman added that she received a letter from the towing service that said the car had been towed on April 11 from a parking lot near Brooklyn Boulevard and West Broadway for a strip mall that includes a Rainbow Foods.

Authorities have not yet provided an identity for the body found Monday in the trunk of this gold Lexus parked at Wrecker Services at Glenwood and Lyndale Avenues in Minneapolis.

The man who bought the car, Shane James, said he worked on the car and then sold it.

"How come nobody called me about it before now?" James said.

He said he replaced the seats before selling it. He couldn't immediately recall who bought the car, and his records of the sale were at a different location, he said.

The body was found after workers at the lot opened the trunk "due to an odor," said Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Lisa Kiava.

Brooklyn Park Police Inspector Todd Milburn said it's too soon in the investigation for him to say more about the case at this time.

Star Tribune staff writer C.J. contributed to this report.

matt.mckinney@startribune.com • 612-673-7329