Police have identified the body found in a creek bed near Royal Darwin Hospital as a 54-year-old man and have notified his next of kin.
NT Police said initial investigations determined that the Darwin resident's body was in the creek for two days before it was found yesterday evening by a group of children playing in the area.
Detective Acting Senior Sargent Sonia Kennon said they had not ruled the death as suspicious at this time.
Four children from the same family found the man's body in Lyons, between the Royal Darwin Hospital and Garamanak Park on Damabila Drive, at around 6:30 PM last night.
NT Police have asked for anyone in the area of Garamanak Park who may have seen a person matching the description of the deceased in the area to contact them via Crimestoppers on 1800 333 000.
"Our investigations will continue so that we can identify where this person was in the days leading up to his death so that we can ascertain how and why he might have died," Senior Sargent Kennon said.
Watch Commander Len Turner said police were called to a small creek line in Lyons, between the Royal Darwin Hospital and Garamanak Park on Damabila Drive around 7:00pm Thursday night.
Detectives have been unable to determine the gender of the deceased because of the condition of the remains.
"Police have established a crime scene and detectives will be there this morning with forensics," Commander Turner said.
"At this stage it's still very early … we'll probably get a better idea of what's happened sometime this morning."
Detectives began interviewing residents in the area about 9:00pm Thursday.
Marj Plant lives a few metres from Garamanak Park where the body was found and said she was shocked about the incident.
"It's an area where there's a lot of people do exercise, so it is a busy area," Ms Plant said.
She said police often patrolled the streets near her house, a few metres from the Royal Darwin Hospital, because people slept rough in the parklands.
Kat Nestler, who also lived nearby, said the discovery made her anxious.
"It's normally a very nice area, very quiet, nice houses and decent people," Ms Nestler said.
"You do need to be careful when you walk on the street that you can be at the wrong spot at the wrong time. It's a bit scary."
