A human heart was reportedly found in a salt barn operated by the Tennessee Department of Transportation.
The frightening discovery was made by TDOT workers, who were retrieving salt and found what they thought to be an oddly shaped rock, authorities told WVLT news in Knoxville, Tenn. The FBI determined the organ belonged to an adult male.
Investigators hope DNA testing helps explain the heart’s origin and were searching other salt piles for more body parts.
The find was made in McEwen, Tenn., roughly 50 miles west of Nashville. City workers came across the heart on Thursday while preparing to combat slippery conditions on the roads.
“I’ve been on some crazy stuff, but this is by far, one of the most unusual crime scenes I’ve ever been on,” Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis told WKRN-TV in Nashville.
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Davis said the salt barn is being treated as a crime scene. He estimated the heart had been there for a few weeks.
