Police investigate human remains found in sewer

MILWAUKEE -- Milwaukee police say human remains were found in a sewer near 41st and Garfield on Milwaukee's north side Wednesday morning, May 30th. They are investigating this case as a homicide.

City of Milwaukee Public Works crews were performing routine maintenance on the sewer at 10:15 a.m. when they discovered the human remains. The sewer is located in a narrow alley surrounded by homes. Crews discovered the remains as soon as they lifted the sewer grate.

Police believe the remains belong to an adult. The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner will perform an autopsy Thursday, May 31st, to determine the sex, age and race of the person.

MPD detectives from the Criminal Investigation Bureau are talking to residents in the area, and checking vacant buildings. They are also taking a look at missing persons reports.

"We're actively investigating this as a homicide. We don't know what we have right now. Obviously, this is very suspicious in nature," Milwaukee police's Thomas Steigler said.

One man at the scene Wednesday told FOX6 News his brother has been missing for six years. "I'm kind of lost, because I'm still trying to soak this in. At least give me a clue if it's him or not, but from what I saw, I don't think it is," Dannyelle Harris said. Harris' brother, Kinah Anderson went missing at age 27.

Harris believes his brother witnessed a murder and then told some people about what he saw. As a result, Harris said his brother was silenced by those who were involved.

"From what I was told, he was placed in a sewer, so when I saw on the news that the remains were found in a sewer, I broke my neck trying to get over here to find out," Harris said.

Harris said he continues to hold onto his brother's picture, hoping to find out what happened to him six yeas ago.

Eddie Davis' home is right next to the alley - just feet from where the remains were found. For the last three days, Davis said he thought he smelled a dead animal.

"To tell you the truth, I'm not surprised. Once you go past my alley I smelled and I tell my kids - 'that's how something dead smells,' but I thought it was a dead wild animal around here," Davis said.

After the remains were removed, police used a vacuum to remove garbage and debris from the sewer which investigators will sift through for evidence.

Police won't say what state the remains were found in because they don't want to jeopardize their investigation. They say the remains were not decomposed, like what they found months ago in McGovern Park.

Anyone with information into this case is asked to contact Milwaukee police.