Found Deceased TX - Caleb Harris, 21, Texas A&M University student, Corpus Christi, 4 Mar 2024 #4

[EllaMae]

I kind of disagree. If it appears to LE that Caleb met with foul play, and the perpetrator is still out there potentially harming other partners, the public needs to know everything that might identify this predator, ASAP.

LE will ask for the public's help if and when they need it. We do not have the right to demand that they share sensitive information.

 

[SMK777]

I thought none of those manholes in that field led directly into the holding tank which is part of the sewer system.

I’ve had a very difficult time getting the facts on this.

 

[Muddy K]

I’ve had a very difficult time getting the facts on this.

Me neither, nor have I been able to find  definitive information about the diameter of the lift station's incoming pipe, even if it is the one the supposed "uncapped" manhole ports to. The best I've been able to determine about that pipe is the diameter would be between 10 and 15 inches. I spent way too much of my Sunday poring over a 110-page public works document to learn more about the Perry Place lift station, which is the one in which the remains were found.

Because if in fact those remains included parts as large as a torso, I'm not at all convinced they could freely flow through a 15-inch-diameter pipe and into the wet well chamber. After all, it appears they could not then pass through the outbound 18-inch-diameter pipe, which is why they were discovered in the wet well chamber, either hung up on the pump or just suspended in the liquid, unable to drift into the outbound pipe. Something doesn't make sense, but it could also be just me not being an urban engineer.

What I wouldn't give for a complete schematic of that lift station...

 

[jshhanson]

I wonder if they are waiting for all the results to be in before making any announcements: DNA, autopsy and toxicology. It may make sense for all this to be released together ?

The other thought is that perhaps if the determination ends up being death by misadventure, maybe only Caleb’s parents will be notified and no public notification will be made? I’m not sure how that is usually handled?

I know different jurisdictions handle these things differently. IMO.

They would at least indicate that the remains found were in fact Caleb and let the public know if or if not they believed there was foul play involved. They would probably not release additional details to the public.

 

[LauraAnne]

LE will ask for the public's help if and when they need it. We do not have the right to demand that they share sensitive information.

I think the public has the right, if LE believes at this time that he was murdered, to know that. Because if that's the case and they have no idea who did it, the public is in danger.

 

[DoctorRose]

Me neither, nor have I been able to find  definitive information about the diameter of the lift station's incoming pipe, even if it is the one the supposed "uncapped" manhole ports to. The best I've been able to determine about that pipe is the diameter would be between 10 and 15 inches. I spent way too much of my Sunday poring over a 110-page public works document to learn more about the Perry Place lift station, which is the one in which the remains were found.

Because if in fact those remains included parts as large as a torso, I'm not at all convinced they could freely flow through a 15-inch-diameter pipe and into the wet well chamber. After all, it appears they could not then pass through the outbound 18-inch-diameter pipe, which is why they were discovered in the wet well chamber, either hung up on the pump or just suspended in the liquid, unable to drift into the outbound pipe. Something doesn't make sense, but it could also be just me not being an urban engineer.

What I wouldn't give for a complete schematic of that lift station...

I think we also have to factor in pressure differences between the pipes and the well. With enough pressure I think a body could fit in small spaces because it can be squeezed. Sorry for how gross that imagery is. IMO.

 

[Janitor101]

Vail,

OMG, yes, Caleb and Noah's cases are strikingly similar. Both men are slim, similar in age, outgoing, well liked, adventerous, have fantastic smiles, like to go barefoot, and were/are students.

& then we have the Lift Station

I believe that 'suicidal cause of death' is the default for, "We don't have the resources to keep the investigation going." (No judgement).

This is why the Harris' have to raise money on their own to find out what happened to their boy.

 imo

The weird thing about Noah Dewitt's case is that he had been missing for almost the same length of time as Caleb....3 months, yet the ME made a positive ID within 4 days of the body being discovered. Although his death was ruled as "undetermined", he had been very distressed at the time he left a friend's home.

The pipe that fed into the wet well was reported to be 52".

 

[buyerninety]

EllaMae said;
"I thought none of those manholes in that field led
directly into the holding tank"...

Well, (cited previously up the thread page), the
LSRP-EPA-Approved-2020-08-20.pdf , at or about pdf
page 55, (showing pump lift station #1051), has a
representation of a 'gravity main' pipe laid and flowing
under that field to the (orange) 'overflow' manhole
south of the pump lift station and thence into the
pump lift station. (Remember, we're unclear if there
is an actual manhole in that field or if there may be
some broken-into-the-pipe-top 'hole').

Your post had my head spinning for some time...
we've definately got the correct pump lift station,
as here is the link for the Corpus Christi Police Dept.:
UPDATE ON INVESTIGATION INTO HUMAN REMAINS
which locates the pump lift station "off the 5300
block of Lexington Road." Inputting that into Google
Maps/Earth lets you see the lift station if you zoom in
a few times. ('Perry Place' doesn't return anything
currently, but I assume that's the name for the service
road that leads down beside the water ditch down to
the lift station?)

 

[10ofRods]

<modsnip: Quoted post was removed due to no link to information stated as fact>

<modsnip: California is off topic>

I would think in this case, determining manner of death has to be the principal task of the ongoing investigation, with a badly decomposed body in a very unusual circumstance. I think the idea that he "just fell in" to the pump station when the manhole cover was off for an innocuous reason and then someone comes and replaces the manhole cover without checking inside is pretty...outlandish. I find it hard to believe.

That leaves, in my mind, one main option (homicide) and one unlikely option (suicide - I mean, how can it be a suicide?).

There's still the option of accident/misadventure if in fact this is like those times when someone goes down a chimney, thinking they can fit through to somewhere else, and gets stuck. But how did the manhole cover get replaced in that case? Someone knows.

IMO

 

[Janitor101]

<modsnip: Quoted post was removed due to no link to information stated as fact>

<modsnip: California is off topic>

I would think in this case, determining manner of death has to be the principal task of the ongoing investigation, with a badly decomposed body in a very unusual circumstance. I think the idea that he "just fell in" to the pump station when the manhole cover was off for an innocuous reason and then someone comes and replaces the manhole cover without checking inside is pretty...outlandish. I find it hard to believe.

That leaves, in my mind, one main option (homicide) and one unlikely option (suicide - I mean, how can it be a suicide?).

There's still the option of accident/misadventure if in fact this is like those times when someone goes down a chimney, thinking they can fit through to somewhere else, and gets stuck. But how did the manhole cover get replaced in that case? Someone knows.

IMO

<modsnip: Quoted post was modsnipped>

If it was an accident/misadventure one would think if you are striding across a darkened field at night and you fail to see an open manhole, it seems that only one of your legs would fall into the open manhole....not both? Unless we are talking about a fairly huge manhole?

 

[10ofRods]

<modsnip: Quoted post was modsnipped>

If it was an accident/misadventure one would think if you are striding across a darkened field at night and you fail to see an open manhole, it seems that only one of your legs would fall into the open manhole....not both? Unless we are talking about a fairly huge manhole?

All I know is that it has happened, at least a few times.

Injury Patterns Following Falls Down Open Manholes - PubMed

Little is known of the possible injuries caused by a fall through an open manhole, with the last study published 40 years ago. The purpose of this study was to examine the injuries, surgical interventions, and outcomes in patients suffering from a fall through an open manhole or storm drain. All...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

The case I know best involved a colleague who was a documentary filmmaker based out of Indonesia. Was looking through his camera and walking in the street, fell into a manhole, broke his leg very badly and died of blood clots from it within a couple of days. Medical care might not have been US state of the art.

Lorne Blair — Dr. Lawrence Blair

www.drlawrenceblair.com

(Tribute with brief details about him "falling into a hole." It was, according to the book written by Dr. Blair, his brother, a manhole).

Standard manhole in the US is 3 feet across - plenty big enough for a regular sized man to go down a ladder and clear his shoulders. Some are as wide as 6 feet according to Google (I've never seen one that big except in San Francisco - where they access the cables for the cable cars).

If I stepped without being aware into a open hole with one leg, I think it's about a 50/50 chance whether the rest of me could or would follow. The leg trying to remain up top would have a very hard task on its hands - I think it would be fairly easy to fall into a hole through the ordinary process of walking.

But who would leave a manhole cover off? Why? And who put it back on? These have to be the questions the police are trying to answer right now. It is possible, of course, for a person to get a manhole cover off and go inside and then pull the cover back over themselves, but I always thought it took a certain tool (like a big lever) to get the cover up and off. I guess some Urban Adventure/Parcours people might have this tool.

All conjecture and opinion of course.

 

[Emi]

Wastewater plant remains confirmed to be Caleb Harris

CCPD officials confirmed the news Wednesday evening.

www.kiiitv.com

https://twitter.com/x/status/1813734981807550511

 

[Marfe]

I am "glad" the family now has "closure" - at least that they now know he is not coming back and they can lay him to rest. I hope he is at peace. Prayers for his family and loved ones

 

[LauraAnne]

Heartbreaking. Prayers this just turns out to be a fluke accident.

 

[Eli9]

I am "glad" the family now has "closure" - at least that they now know he is not coming back and they can lay him to rest. I hope he is at peace. Prayers for his family and loved ones

Echoing your thoughts for the Harris family. May they find peace.

 

[MassGuy]

CCPD: Human remains found in wastewater well identified as Caleb Harris

Forensic analysts with the UNTCHI have determined that the human remains found inside a City Wastewater Lift Station last month is most likely Caleb Harris.

www.kristv.com

According to the Missing Persons DNA Report issued today by UNTCHI, the remains “are approximately 2.4 sextillion times more likely to be observed if the unidentified remains originated from a biological child of (Caleb Harris’s parents) rather than if the unidentified remains originated from an unrelated individual from the Caucasian population.”

The remains will be returned to the Nueces County Medical Examiner’s office, which will then issue the final autopsy report.

 

[vls12345]

My condolences to Caleb's loved ones. He seems like he was a beautiful soul.

 

[PommyMommy]

Corpus Christi Police Department | Facebook

HUMAN REMAINS FOUND AT WASTEWATER LIFT STATION IDENTIFIED

Forensic Analysts with the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification (UNTCHI) have determined that the human remains found inside a City Wastewater Lift Station last month are most likely those of missing person Caleb Harris.

City workers conducting maintenance at the Perry Place wastewater lift station, located off the 5300 block of Lexington Road, discovered the remains inside a wastewater collection well during the afternoon of MondayJune 24th and immediately contacted the Police Department.

The remains, which bore no obvious signs of homicide, were transported to the Nueces County Medical Examiner’s Office for examination. Due to the advanced state of decomposition, the Medical Examiner’s Office was unable to make an identification, nor provide a manner or cause of death at that time. The remains were then sent to the UNTCHI for DNA analysis, along with DNA samples from Harris’s parents. According to the Missing Persons DNA Report issued today by UNTCHI, the remains “are approximately 2.4 sextillion times more likely to be observed if the unidentified remains originated from a biological child of (Caleb Harris’s parents) rather than if the unidentified remains originated from an unrelated individual from the Caucasian population.”

Texas A&M Corpus Christi student Caleb Harris disappeared from his off-campus apartment in the foggy early morning hours of Monday March 4th, 2024. The CCPD organized an exhaustive search of hundreds of acres surrounding Harris’s apartment complex in the days and weeks following his disappearance. CCPD resources involved in the search included the Drone Team, Bike Team, Enduro Unit, 83rd Police Academy Class, Search and Recovery Dive Team, and Directed Patrol Officers. Additional resources included the Coast Guard, Texas Parks and Wildlife, Port of Corpus Christi Police Department Marine Unit, Texas Search and Rescue, student volunteers from Texas A&M CC, along with countless additional civilian volunteers.

An investigative team consisting of Investigators from the Police Department’s Criminal Investigation Division and Organized Crime Unit, the FBI, the United States Marshals Service, and the Texas Rangers was formed within days of Harris’s vanishing. Over the course of the following months, investigators executed over 50 digital search warrants, submitted 82 preservation requests, and analyzed over 1500 GB of Data.
The remains will be returned to the Nueces County Medical Examiner’s office, which will then issue the final autopsy report.

Although the remains have been identified as Caleb Harris, this investigation remains open. If you have information regarding this investigation, please contact the Corpus Christi Police Department Criminal Investigation Division at (361) 826-2840 or you can submit an anonymous tip at Crime Stoppers 888-TIPS (888-8477).

 

[Leopard]

Thankful the family has closure, sad as it is. I think it's very interesting that the CCPD has stated that there are no obvious signs of homicide at this time but also is keeping the investigation open for anonymous tips.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Harris’s father, Randy, in a statement to KSAT, said in part, “We all have heavy hearts this evening as we learned of the positive identification of our sweet Caleb. We will grieve our son, but we are at peace knowing he is with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

Remains found in Corpus Christi identified as missing student Caleb Harris, police say

The remains of Caleb Harris, a 21-year-old New Braunfels native attending college in Corpus Christi, have been identified four months after he was reported missing, according to Corpus Christi police and the man’s father.

www.ksat.com