A Geelong woman found her husband’s body after the dog he was walking came home without him, police say.

Police said the 40-year-old left his home on Western Beach Road near the waterfront of the Victorian city about 10pm on Thursday night on his usual nightly walk.

His wife told investigators she woke up about 4am on Friday to find the dog had returned home without her husband, police said.

They said the woman told detectives she went outside to have a look around and found her husband’s body next to his vehicle on nearby Malone Street.

“He has significant head injuries and unfortunately passed away before he was located,” Detective Sergeant Tony Hupfield said.

The Homicide Squad detective said the investigation was in the “very early stages”, and he could not say whether the man had been targeted or the victim of a random attack.

“This man is not known to police and we have no information at this stage that suggests anything like that but as I said, we’re exploring all avenues of inquiry,” Sergeant Hufield said.

He said it was too early say exactly what time the man died, but wanted to hear from anyone who was in the Geelong CBD or waterfront area between 11pm and 4am.

“We’re looking for any witnesses, people who may have been walking down the street or driving down the street or in this area in Geelong who may have CCTV or dashcam footage if they can contact police or Crimestoppers,” he said.