BRADENTON, Fla. (AP) - Authorities in Florida discovered a decomposing body Tuesday inside of a trash can that someone had asked a retirement community resident to store in his carport.
The resident called authorities to a mobile home park in Bradenton at around 12:30 p.m., the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office said.
The resident told deputies he had been storing the trash can, which belonged to another person, in his carport for about two months while waiting for the person to come and retrieve it, news outlets reported. The resident added that he believed the 55-gallon can contained personal belongings, but decided to see what was inside.
That’s when he opened it and encountered a foul smell.
Deputies determined a human body in “an advanced stage of decomposition” was inside the can.
The body was not immediately identified and a cause of death was not known, the sheriff’s office said. Investigators said they were following several leads in the case.
An autopsy was set for Wednesday.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.