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Workers getting ready to prepare roadways for cold weather got the shock of a lifetime when they discovered a human heart in a salt pile in Middle Tennessee.
According to Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis, a worker at the Tennessee Department of Transportation facility on Highway 70E in McEwan found an "adult male human heart" on Thursday (December 15), per WKRN. The Sheriff's Office will be meeting with TDOT officials as well as the McEwan Police Department and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to conduct a search, though Davis said they "don't feel that anybody's safety is in question" at the moment.
"I've been on some crazy stuff, but this is by far, one of the most unusual crime scene I've ever been on," said Davis. He added that they are "working very diligently to find or not find anything else at this location."
As of Friday afternoon, it is unclear if any other human remains are at the facility as they continue to search the area. They also don't know how long the heart was at the facility.
"At first they thought it was a rock. The process of what salt does to that, it dries it out," said Davis, adding that the dehydration process could make determining the timeframe more difficult. "It's speculated that it could have been there for just a few weeks."
The TBI confirmed that an adult male human heart was found at the McEwan facility and that additional DNA testing will be performed in an effort to determine its origin. The investigation remains ongoing.