Northern Territory Police are investigating the death after a female driver stumbled across the body of the 19-year-old man at Undoolya Road, east of Alice Springs.
The woman from the nearby Undoolya Station found the man lying 4km beyond the sealed section of the road about 12.30pm on New Year's Day before she alerted emergency crews.
NT Police Assistant Commissioner Travis Wurst said the investigation is continuing and police were able to identify the non-Indigenous man on Tuesday morning.
"The investigation into his linkages and how he fits into the Alice Springs community is still being worked upon, but we believe that he is an Alice Springs resident," Mr Wurst told ABC radio.
Police are in the process of contacting the man's family, the assistant commissioner said.Â
"This is a tragedy," he said.
"This will be very upsetting for the family given it has occurred on New Year's Day and for a new year."
Investigators don't believe the man's body was left out for long and are expecting to conduct an autopsy within the next day.
"That will assist us in determining a cause of death which is currently unknown," Mr Wurst said.
Anyone with CCTV or dashcam footage from Undoolya Road between the intersections of Kurrajong Drive and Spearwood Road from any time on January 1 is being urged to contact police.
"No matter how small you think the information may be, please provide that to the police," Mr Wurst said.
Motorists were asked to avoid the area and the access road to Undoolya Station along Undoolya Road was closed on Monday night.
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