An employee trimming the lawn at a San Antonio plumbing business made a startling discovery: a human skull.
“I saw what looked like a dried cantaloupe or something,” Walter Stephens told ABC affiliate KSAT about the grisly find on Monday, Sept. 15, near Harrell Commercial Plumbing.
Stephens continued, “I picked it up, and the bottom part of the jaw stayed on the ground. When I turned it over and saw the teeth, I was like, ‘Oh my God.’ ”
He immediately alerted his boss, Brad Harrell, the company’s vice president, who contacted the police, according to the report.
The San Antonio Police Department confirmed that officers responded around 1:34 p.m. local time to reports of a “found skull” at the 1300 block of N San Jacinto Street. Upon arrival, they discovered “a possible human skull that was decomposing.”
“You don’t think you’re going to see a human skull, ever really,” Harrell told KSAT. “There was no skin or anything on it. It had been decomposed for a while.”
Harrell added that detectives informed him additional remains were found near the creek behind the business, including multiple bones and a detached mandible. Authorities said they also recovered “other small possible body parts” after securing the scene.
The remains were later identified by the local coroner as belonging to 30-year-old Austin Thomas Wyrosdick, according to KSAT and CBS affiliate KENS. Police described the case as an “apparent sudden death.”
The Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed that the cause and manner of Wyrosdick’s death are still pending.
As the investigation continues, Stephens and Harrell have shared their own theories. Both men, who frequently visit the area, believe the remains hadn’t been there long.
“Either someone picked it up and dropped it off there, or some type of animal moved it,” Harrell told KSAT. “It wasn’t knee-high grass where you’re cutting the grass and are like, ‘Whoa, hey there it is.’ ”
Stephens told KENS that the skull was found near bowls used to feed stray dogs.
“It’s sad,” he said, “but it was good I found him.”
