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

[10ofRods]

<modsnip: not an approved source>

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

It is my understanding that the Greenwood waste water facility was searched though.

I think it was - at one point. That's why I think the body was placed there when the coast was clear. It's not unheard of.

However, now that they've found him there, they will (should) go back and look through the entire system for trace DNA and hair evidence (things that are small/microscopic). They've had a lot of rain down that way, though, so no guarantees.

Does anyone else think that CH might have removed the manhole cover and attempted some kind of urban exploration? I ask because he went out without shoes on, no phone (as if thinking he might be encountering...wet sand? water? water treatment plant?) I thought we discussed this earlier here.

IIRC.

 

[10ofRods]

Also, the Perry Lift Station was searched multiple times.

Do you have a source for that? I'm very interested.

TIA!

 

[slowpoke]

Hopefully this map will help.

View attachment 518708

Anyone know if there a close-up photo of just the manhole in the field anywhere online that we can see?

 

[slowpoke]

Do you have a source for that? I'm very interested.

TIA!

I know I’m not who you asked, but I found this.
I’ve seen Corpus Christi Cronica posted here before as a source link, so I guess it is acceptable here:

(LINK to their June 28 post)

A quote:
“Early in the investigation, the Corpus Christi Police Department (CCPD) and Corpus Christi Water (CCW) searched the area around the Perry Place wet well, including lifting manhole lids and draining the wet well, but unfortunately, no evidence was found at the time.”

A bit more to their post if you go to the link.

 

[Fireflye]

<modsnip: not an approved source>

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

It is my understanding that the Greenwood waste water facility was searched though.

OK I’m confused as we have used Jennifer as a source before? Did something change recently? Edit, I just saw that she’s no longer an approved source.

 

[marloweclover]

If we accept as true that they drained the wet well early on, then he was not in the wet well at that time. I'd like to know what exactly alerted them to search again, and how rapidly that alert would be likely to happen after a foreign object of size entered the wet well.

So... possibility #1. He was somewhere else in the system for most of the time he was missing, but eventually traveled into the wet well. Correct me if I've missed an official statement, but there's been endless speculation on whether it is physically possible for a human of Caleb's dimensions to enter the wet well via the piping. Then we get to accident at the access point vs. non-accident.

Possibility #2, he was placed or somehow fell into the wet well directly, but after the initial search. I wonder if they can tell from his condition approximately how long he had been in water. MOO, but storing a body and transporting it unseen is quite the task. It certainly happens, but it's more unusual than dumping it immediately.

 

[Fireflye]

They have not been able to prove one way or another whether foul play is involved at this time, here is the latest interview from CCPD Assistant Chief Todd Green,

 

[10ofRods]

I know I’m not who you asked, but I found this.
I’ve seen Corpus Christi Cronica posted here before as a source link, so I guess it is acceptable here:

(LINK to their June 28 post)

A quote:
“Early in the investigation, the Corpus Christi Police Department (CCPD) and Corpus Christi Water (CCW) searched the area around the Perry Place wet well, including lifting manhole lids and draining the wet well, but unfortunately, no evidence was found at the time.”

A bit more to their post if you go to the link.

That's a great article (minority owned local news, AFAIK).

Thank you!

 

[10ofRods]

If we accept as true that they drained the wet well early on, then he was not in the wet well at that time. I'd like to know what exactly alerted them to search again, and how rapidly that alert would be likely to happen after a foreign object of size entered the wet well.

So... possibility #1. He was somewhere else in the system for most of the time he was missing, but eventually traveled into the wet well. Correct me if I've missed an official statement, but there's been endless speculation on whether it is physically possible for a human of Caleb's dimensions to enter the wet well via the piping. Then we get to accident at the access point vs. non-accident.

Possibility #2, he was placed or somehow fell into the wet well directly, but after the initial search. I wonder if they can tell from his condition approximately how long he had been in water. MOO, but storing a body and transporting it unseen is quite the task. It certainly happens, but it's more unusual than dumping it immediately.

Sure sounds that way. Some news sources are saying that the storm prompted further searches.

Great post - lays out the possibilities very clearly. I agree with all of it - but I think we do have a very unusual case here, so anything is possible.

 

[Fireflye]

They have not been able to prove one way or another whether foul play is involved at this time, here is the latest interview from CCPD Assistant Chief Todd Green,

Around 12:23 he addressees the open manhole cover, etc, on 4-18 the Perry lift station and wet well was searched. What they were told that even though it’s Wastewater and that’s what it is designed for They did say that when they have heavy rains Rainwater can infiltrate the system, And tropical storm Alberto had just occurred. Also of interest, The lift station is a very secure building With locks and the wet well also has a padlock on it. They did not find his phone.

 

[JerseyWasHome2]

I think it was - at one point. That's why I think the body was placed there when the coast was clear. It's not unheard of.

However, now that they've found him there, they will (should) go back and look through the entire system for trace DNA and hair evidence (things that are small/microscopic). They've had a lot of rain down that way, though, so no guarantees.

Does anyone else think that CH might have removed the manhole cover and attempted some kind of urban exploration? I ask because he went out without shoes on, no phone (as if thinking he might be encountering...wet sand? water? water treatment plant?) I thought we discussed this earlier here.

IIRC.

His phone went missing with him, and the last communication IIRC was a pic he snapped of that nearby bridge that he sent to a friend via Snapchat.

Can you explain what you meant by them looking through the entire system for trace DNA and hair? Surely you don't mean swab the interior of those storm drains?

 

[slowpoke]

They have not been able to prove one way or another whether foul play is involved at this time, here is the latest interview from CCPD Assistant Chief Todd Green,

Around 12:23 he addressees the open manhole cover, etc, on 4-18 the Perry lift station and wet well was searched. What they were told that even though it’s Wastewater and that’s what it is designed for They did say that when they have heavy rains Rainwater can infiltrate the system, And tropical storm Alberto had just occurred. Also of interest, The lift station is a very secure building With locks and the wet well also has a padlock on it. They did not find his phone.

The transcript, the part about the open manhole in the field (very interesting)

13:35
We got a tip that, uh, a woman had been out there in that field
13:39
that had been searched very thoroughly.
13:41
The field right across from the apartment complex
13:44
and have found an open manhole.
13:47
Uh, our investigators went out there the following day on April 18th
13:51
and they did find that there was a open manhole
13:55
cover. It wasn't just the cover it. Actually, the entire,
13:59
um, top of the manhole had been knocked off.
14:02
Uh, they, they
14:04
looked into the manhole
14:06
into the manhole which is about 18 ft deep.
14:10
It, at the time it was
14:12
somewhat uh full of water.
14:14
So they reached out to the wastewater department who
14:17
happened to be in the area for fortunately for us,
14:20
but they reached out to some wastewater workers
14:23
and they had them go over to the lift station at Perry place
14:27
and they actually activated the pump over there
14:30
which brought down the level of the water in that manhole.
14:35
So the investigators searched it the best they could at that time
14:39
and didn't see anything.

 

[PommyMommy]

JUL 18, 2024

Texas A&M Corpus Christi mourns the loss of Caleb Harris

TAMU-CC is offering free counseling to all students and staff. Remembrance ceremony is being planned in the Fall.

www.kristv.com

The university president ended her letter stating that the university will honor Harris' legacy at a remembrance ceremony this Fall.

 

[Rush4087]

The transcript, the part about the open manhole in the field (very interesting)

13:35
We got a tip that, uh, a woman had been out there in that field
13:39
that had been searched very thoroughly.
13:41
The field right across from the apartment complex
13:44
and have found an open manhole.
13:47
Uh, our investigators went out there the following day on April 18th
13:51
and they did find that there was a open manhole
13:55
cover. It wasn't just the cover it. Actually, the entire,
13:59
um, top of the manhole had been knocked off.
14:02
Uh, they, they
14:04
looked into the manhole
14:06
into the manhole which is about 18 ft deep.
14:10
It, at the time it was
14:12
somewhat uh full of water.
14:14
So they reached out to the wastewater department who
14:17
happened to be in the area for fortunately for us,
14:20
but they reached out to some wastewater workers
14:23
and they had them go over to the lift station at Perry place
14:27
and they actually activated the pump over there
14:30
which brought down the level of the water in that manhole.
14:35
So the investigators searched it the best they could at that time
14:39
and didn't see anything.

If the woman who reported the open manhole (not just the cover, but the whole top) was not the first person to search (or be in) that field right across from the apartments - as the asst. chief said: the field had already been thoroughly searched - the obvious question is: was the manhole cover and top off of the manhole structure when the field was “thoroughly searched” earlier?

And a related question: regardless of “when” the cover and top were removed, (idk, maybe that part of the field wasn’t searched as thoroughly as it was reported?), how could the cover and top have physically been removed?

Could a human (CH or other) physically lift a manhole cover? Could a human (CH or other) physically lift and remove the entire “top” of a manhole?

If a human (w/o equipment) would not have been able to lift and remove the entire “top” of a manhole, it seems that the cover and top had to have been previously removed and pushed off of its structure using equipment (like a bobcat) - maybe when the field was graded?

It would also mean that it is highly likely that the entire manhole top was likely off of the structure before CH went missing. Again, this would seem to contradict “thoroughly searched earlier”.

It’s still just one theory - and I don’t know how CH ended up in the Perry lift station - but I think it is entirely possible that right after taking the first foggy bridge photo, he crossed the road and walked into that dark foggy field to take a similar photo from a different angle - and fell into an open manhole structure.

Jmo

 

[Teche]

Is there a list of approved media? If so, where can one find it?

 

[fred&edna]

They have not been able to prove one way or another whether foul play is involved at this time, here is the latest interview from CCPD Assistant Chief Todd Green,

The technology of cloning his phone makes me say "Wow!"... sounds like great efforts were made.

jmo

 

[slowpoke]

From the transcript:

“and they did find that there was a open manhole
13:55
cover. It wasn't just the cover it. Actually, the entire,
13:59
um, top of the manhole had been knocked off.”
===

Where Asst Chief Todd Green says the above, what does he mean by it? I guess I can’t picture what “the entire top had been knocked off” means.

Manhole cover, I think I understand. But what is meant by “the entire top”?

 

[Valiant]

From the transcript:

“and they did find that there was a open manhole
13:55
cover. It wasn't just the cover it. Actually, the entire,
13:59
um, top of the manhole had been knocked off.”
===

Where Asst Chief Todd Green says the above, what does he mean by it? I
Manhole cover, I think I understand. But what is meant by “the entire top”?

All I can think of is this is what might be considered a sanitary manhole. From my understanding these are the manholes elevated above the ground level. If it’s not clear from my description, try googling sanitary manhole.
If what I’m thinking is correct, the manhole structure above ground level was shifted, maybe by being hit with machinery.

 

[mmeynstyn]

They have not been able to prove one way or another whether foul play is involved at this time, here is the latest interview from CCPD Assistant Chief Todd Green,

This confirms a direct connection between the Perry lift station and the open manhole in the field. That is one thing I was a bit confused about earlier. They either didn't do a very thorough job of searching the field, OR, that manhole was opened after the initial field search. Also, from what he said, they didn't really investigate the pipes between open manhole and lift station (no mention of a camera used). However, IMO this open manhole does seem a very plausible entry point.

Also, this leads me to believe the discovered remains may have been more limited than I had originally thought. Did they ever say what remains were discovered? I apologize upfront for this question - If a body had been in the water fora couple months, would it break apart naturally? I don't know what a body does over time if in the water. And, IMO,no mention of clothes is still a bit baffling.

 

[mmeynstyn]

From the transcript:

“and they did find that there was a open manhole
13:55
cover. It wasn't just the cover it. Actually, the entire,
13:59
um, top of the manhole had been knocked off.”
===

Where Asst Chief Todd Green says the above, what does he mean by it? I guess I can’t picture what “the entire top had been knocked off” means.

Manhole cover, I think I understand. But what is meant by “the entire top”?

Also, some manhole covers have risers. This link shows an example only (which may or may not be what was in the field): Riser Rings | EJ