Human heart found by workers at Tennessee government salt factory: Police say the remains of an adult male may have been there for weeks, calling it the ‘most bizarre’ thing they’ve seen
- An adult male human heart was discovered in a pile of road salt at a Tennessee Department of Transportation facility in McEwen, west of Nashville
- The heart was discovered Thursday by a worker at the facility
- Police searched the facility over the weekend but no other remains were found
- The heart is believed to have been at the facility for weeks, although an exact time frame is difficult to pinpoint due to the salt-induced dehydration process
A human heart was uncovered between piles of salt at a Tennessee Department of Transportation facility.
Workers at the facility in McEwen, west of Nashville, were preparing for inclement weather on Thursday when they encountered something unusual that was later confirmed to be a human heart, Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis said.
The organ was transported to the state coroner’s office in Nashville, where examination of tissue samples confirmed it was the human heart of an adult male, Davis said.
The heart became dehydrated from the salt and it’s unclear how long it was there, he said.
Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis confirmed the bizarre find and said the location is now considered a crime scene
Workers at the McEwen facility, west of Nashville, found the human heart and initially believed it to be a rock
Davis told WKRN in Nashville that the facility was being treated as a crime scene.
“I’ve been on some crazy stuff, but this is by far one of the most unusual crime scenes I’ve been to,” he said.
He encouraged anyone who thinks they have information about what may have happened to contact TBI or the sheriff’s office.
“Everyone is someone, and at the end of the day it would bother me if I lay my head down at night not knowing that we’ve done everything for that person and that person’s family,” Davis said.
“I have 32 years in law enforcement. I have to say that this is probably in the top 5 most bizarre things I’ve ever seen.
“At this point in time, we don’t feel that anyone’s safety is being questioned,” Davis said.
Authorities are investigating the discovery of a human heart in a salt heap at a Tennessee Department of Transportation facility
How long the human organ was in the salt heap is currently unclear
“It was found in the salt where TDOT is preparing to attack the bad weather, the extreme weather conditions that we are having.
“At first they thought it was a rock. The process that salt does to it dries it out.’ said Davis. “It is speculated that it may have only been there for a couple of weeks.
“TDOT is on board and working with us to try to find information on where the salt came from and when it came in,” he added.
Local 10 was able to get an overhead shot of the search, which took place over the weekend.
No other remains were found at the facility after crews searched the salt barn.