Workers in Tennessee making brine discovered a human heart, prompting a law enforcement investigation to determine its origins, according to state officials.
The heart was discovered Thursday at a state Transportation Department salt facility in McEwen, about 60 miles southwest of Nashville, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
“An initial examination of the heart determined that it was that of an adult male,” the bureau said in a statement Sunday. “Additional DNA testing will be performed to try to determine its origin. This remains an active and ongoing investigation.”
According to the statement, 23rd Judicial District Attorney General Ray Crouch requested that the agency conduct an investigation. According to the state bureau, the investigation will be conducted with Humphreys County sheriff’s deputies.
The station reported that while workers were retrieving salt from their barn, they discovered what they thought was a strangely shaped rock. Davis told WSMV that the heart appeared to have been there for a while and was dehydrated from the salt.
The Transportation Department is “fully cooperating with law enforcement as they continue their investigation,” according to a statement issued by the agency on Monday.
