Authorities say the remains of what appears to be an early second trimester fetus were found Tuesday in the drain system of a Natchez wastewater treatment plant.
The Natchez Democrat reported that Adams County Sheriff Travis Patten said the fetus, estimated to be at about 16 weeks of development, apparently washed up with the wastewater at the treatment plant.
“There is a question as to whether a crime has been committed or if it was simply a miscarriage,” Patten said.
Patten said the Mississippi Crime Lab indicated that the fetus would not have been viable outside the womb at that stage of development.
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Adams County Coroner James Lee said the sheriff’s office called him to the scene Tuesday morning. Lee estimated that the fetus was at a gestational age of about 16 weeks.
