Human heart found in pile of salt in Tennessee
12/20/2022 1:33 pm PST
HUMPHREYS COUNTY, Tenn. (TCD) -- Workers at a Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) facility reportedly unearthed a human heart in a pile of salt last week.
Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis told WKRN-TV deputies received the call from the TDOT facility in McEwen on Thursday, Dec. 15, regarding some "items that were found of interest."
According to WSMV-TV, TDOT employees were gathering salt to make brine for the roads, and one person reportedly found what they thought was a rock in the pile. It ended up being a vital organ instead.
Davis said the heart likely "could have been there for a few weeks" and was dried out because of the salt.
WKRN reports the heart is from an adult male, and Davis said detectives are "treating this as a crime scene."
The Humphreys County Sheriff’s Office is working with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and TDOT to see if they "find or don’t find anything else at this location."
WKRN reports the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said in a statement, "At the request of 23rd Judicial District Attorney General Ray Crouch, TBI special agents are working along with deputies with the Humphreys County Sheriff’s office, in investigating the discovery of a human heart in a TDOT salt facility in McEwen Thursday."
The statement continued, "An initial examination of the heart determined that it was that of an adult male. Additional DNA testing will be performed to try to determine its origin. This remains an active and ongoing investigation."
Davis said of the investigation, "I’ve been on some crazy stuff, but this is by far one of the most unusual crime scenes that I’ve ever been on."
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