This story was updated at 2:32 p.m. to include the cross street and that the victim was taken to Loma Linda University Medical Center-Murrieta.
The discovery of a woman found dead in French Valley Friday prompted an investigation into a possible hit-and-run, officials told Patch.
The woman "appears ... to have been hit by a vehicle," Riverside County sheriff's Sgt. Lisa McConnell told Patch.
Officials said it was a joint investigation between the California Highway Patrol and Riverside County sheriff's deputies.
Officers were called at 8:45 a.m. to the area of Brookridge Lane, near Washington Street, McConnell said.
"We are in the preliminary stages of an investigation," CHP Sgt. Cory Ball said.
Ball told Patch at the scene that the woman -- she was listed as 69 -- went out for a walk Friday morning but failed to return as expected; the family went looking for her, the sergeant said.
"She was found along the right side of the road," Ball said ... unconscious with severe traumatic injuries."
The woman was taken to Loma Linda University Medical Center-Murrieta, where she was pronounced dead, the sergeant told Patch.
Her identity is not being released until it is confirmed by the county coroner's office, according to Ball.
Anyone who may have seen the crash was asked to call the Temecula office of the California Highway Patrol, 951-506-2000.
The area is near a new housing development and near a park in French Valley, Patch learned at the scene.
