BRIGHAM CITY, Utah — The identity of the human remains discovered by a construction crew in Brigham City on Wednesday remains a mystery despite an autopsy being conducted.
Following the autopsy, Brigham City police said Thursday that they are still unable to determine the age, gender or ethnicity of the remains, although they added that the black garbage bag contained the full body.
Police shared that the body had long hair held back by a hair tie and was wearing female clothing, including a black hoodie. The victim also had a distinctive mark on one of the arms that will be released by the end of the week.
"It's definitely somebody's loved one, and to have them discarded like this is just unfathomable for me," said Det. Crystal Beck with the Brigham City Police Department. "I can't imagine taking someone that I cared deeply about and putting them in a bag."
The identity of the remains, which were described to be in a "fairly high state of decomposition," continues to be a mystery as Brigham City does not have any missing persons.
"There's not much left of the whole body, but all body parts are there," added Beck.
FULL BRIEFING: Police share latest details below on remains found in Brigham City:
Union Pacific workers cleaning up the area near 2600 West Highway 13 on Wednesday noticed the bag, and when they tried to pick it up, they noticed how heavy it was. When the crew looked inside, they saw hair and bones.
Beck once again confirmed that the trash bag had been in the area for an extended amount of time, between several months and a couple of years.
The discovery and lack of explanation of what may have happened have shaken those living in the area.
“In a small community bar like this, where everyone talks about their drama, it’s definitely the talk of the bar," said Mim's Bar and Grill owner Josh Buck.
Bag of human remains discovered by construction crew in Brigham City:
Buck shared how Mim’s has been an establishment in one form or another since the 1940s and has seen its share of stories told from a barstool. The remains found this week now have the town on edge.
“It has a potential to make people a little bit nervous here and start locking the doors," Buck said, "so hopefully, there will be some answers and some closure.”
With few leads about the body's identity, police are looking into whether the person was not from Box Elder County and are looking at missing person cases in Utah and the country.
Until the remains are identified, police said they'll continue to work in hopes of bringing relief to someone in desperate need of closure.
"This is somebody's loved one," said Beck. "This is someone's family member who they don't have closure for. They have no idea where this person might be, and I think that everyone deserves to know what happened."
Anyone with any information that could help with the investigation is asked to call the Brigham City Police Department or Box Elder County Communications Center.
