A human heart has been discovered in the Tennessee Department of Transportation’s salt barn in the small US town of McEwen.
According to Humphrey’s County Sheriff Chris Davis, TDOT workers were combining products to make brine on Thursday. As workers were retrieving salt from their barn, they discovered what they believed to be a weirdly shaped rock.
“I’ve got 32 years in law enforcement,” Davis said. “I do have to say this is probably in the top five of most bizarre things that I’ve ever seen.”
The heart had been there for a while, Davis said, and was dehydrated from the salt.
“Somebody, somewhere knows, and we’re seeking information,” Davis said. “I always reach out to the public if you happen to have any idea or just an inclination.”
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation was on the scene Friday, helping sheriff’s deputies sift through sand to look for other body parts. As of Friday evening, they hadn’t found anything.
“We’re just going to keep doing that until we feel really good that there’s no other remains here on the scene,” Davis said.
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Davis is appreciative of the TDOT workers who acted on an uneasy feeling and called police.
“They did act out of suspicion and my hat’s off to them. You know, they got to thinking and when they got that first inclination or doubt in their mind they made the right call,” Davis said.
“I’m very appreciative of that and hopefully when we can find the rest of the remains then the family, I hope will be thankful for that as well.”
According to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the heart was determined to be that of an adult male.
Additional DNA testing will be performed to try to determine the heart’s origin. The investigation remains ongoing and will be led by TBI special agents and deputies with the Humphreys County Sheriff’s Office.
