A dead body was found in the area of Metson Lake in Golden Gate Park on Monday, and the dead man was reportedly well known to women who walk dogs in the area.
Officers from the SFPD's Richmond Station responded to the area of Metson Road and Middle Drive West for a death investigation around 12:30 p.m. Monday, as the department's Public Information Officer Adam Lobsinger tells SFist.
"Officers were directed to the remains of an unidentified male who was pronounced deceased at the scene," Lobsinger says. "Officers spoke to a Golden Gate Park employee who told them that he found the body during the regular course of his work."
Police don't suspect foul play at this time, and the remains have not yet been identified.
A tipster named Raina tells SFist that the body was spotted by a Rec & Parks gardener Monday morning around 11 a.m., and that it was already significantly decomposed.
"He was a homeless man and something of a local terror," Raina writes. "His name was Kurt and he was about 62 years old."
At the risk of speaking ill of the dead, Raina says, "I’m one of about a dozen women with dogs that he’s attacked over the years. I was not a fan of the man."
She explains that she's been a dogwalker in the park and walking in the vicinity regularly for about thirteen years.
"Kurt has always been around," Raina says. "He was friendly for a long time but became combative about five years ago. It was verbal, then he escalated to charging us on the trails and kicking the dogs."
She continues, "He threw a rock through the window of my dog truck, shattering it and showering the animals in glass. In December of 2019 he was arrested in the Sunset for throwing coffee at a woman, her dog, and her stroller. His attacks were predominantly against women who were with dogs. He really hated the dogs."
Raina adds that she has video of him "jumping out of the bushes — armed — and threatening to kill me and my pack."
Metson Lake is a small pond in the southwest quadrant of the park, south of the Polo Field, between Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and Middle Drive rest.
Photo: Adam S./Yelp