Body Parts Found In Sewer Outside Of Detroit

Sterling Heights, MI – Stumbling across pieces of human flesh inside a sewer system sounds like the premise of a horror movie, but that’s precisely what contractors recently discovered while cleaning out a sanitary pipe in a Detroit suburb. According to CBS News, the workers found body parts and scraps of skin mixed in with the debris they were removing from the sewer.

Authorities report that some of the recovered remains were very small. “It’s not like there were arms or legs, it was small pieces,” Sterling Heights Police Lieutenant Luke Riley explained. “One of the pieces has what appears to be part of a tattoo.”

Although officials feel the body parts could have entered the sewer system through one of two lines, pinpointing where, precisely, they were dumped is proving to be more than a little difficult. Gene Schabath, Macomb County’s deputy public works commissioner, explained that there are over 100 different manholes that could have been used to dispose of the parts.

In regards to how many pieces were found, Schabath explained contractors had found “between 10 and 15, and they don’t know where they came from. I mean, in terms of the body — arm, leg or whatever.”

Workers closed the lines temporarily in order to thoroughly check the area for more evidence. Once the pipes have been cleared and the sewer grates examined, the lines were eventually reopened to prevent backup into nearby homes and businesses.

In an effort to identify the body parts, police are currently pouring over missing persons reports. The remains are being held at the The Macomb County medical examiner’s office.

According to The Huffington Post, this isn’t the first grisly discovery authorities have made this summer. In July, the decapitated bodies of a man and a woman were pulled from the Detroit River. A circular saw and a suitcase were recovered from the water as well.