A candlelight vigil was held for Caleb Harris at Cole Park Pier Saturday evening.
www.caller.com
All the important bits below (RSBM):
The remains, in an advanced state of decomposition, were sent to the University of North Texas Center for Human Identification, where forensic analysts confirmed they belonged to Harris though DNA analysis, according to a release sent out by the Corpus Christi Police Department Wednesday.
Local officials are now awaiting results from the Nueces County Medical examiner’s final autopsy report, which will rule the cause and manner of death to inform how the investigation will move forward.
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“We opened all the manhole covers on the storm drains from South Padre Island Drive all the way back to Holly Road,” Green said. “There’s always an opening for the drains, so potentially someone could get in there.”
He pointed out that sewage manhole covers are found in the middle of the streets in the area, but police did not check those due to their location and the difficulty involved in opening them.
At the time, people were unaware that a manhole cover was located in one of the adjacent fields across Harris' apartment complex that was part of the drainage system. It was situated about 110 feet from the sidewalk.
“To our knowledge, no one noticed that, found it or reported it during that initial search,” Green said. “We don’t know if it was open at that time or not.”
Green said on April 17, a woman was walking her dog through that field and noticed the manhole was open and the cover was missing. She posted the finding on Facebook and then notified CCPD, he said.
CCPD detectives went to the field the next day and located the open manhole, which was partially filled with water, Green said.
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Green said they did not notice anything or have a way to enter the sewer. With the water level in the lift station collection having been pumped to a low-enough level to inspect it, the crew began to search for a body or missing items.
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The pipes that comprise the sewage system range in size from smaller pipes to larger pipes about 12- or 15-inches in diameter, Green said. Manholes that are about 24-inches in diameter drop down about 18-feet to a concrete pit.
The pit provides an access point to the well for the wastewater department and is covered by a steel grate secured with a padlock. Workers inside the building were checking on the pumps when they first discovered clothing that alarmed them according to Green. when the Corpus Christi Fire Department went outside to open the pit, a portion of Harris' body was visibly clear through the grate – including his head.
The next day, members of the wastewater department returned to the lift station with a large tanker truck to pump the rest of the contents of the well into the truck and transport them to another facility, finding clothing and bones.
A week after finding Harris' body, police returned to the lift station to run a camera up the length of pipe leading from the pump station to the manhole in the field to see if they could find any other items, such as Harris' phone which has been missing since the day he disappeared.
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They interviewed Harris' roommates, who agreed to polygraph tests, Green said.
"After we searched that area as thoroughly as we did, the thought was that maybe he reached out to somebody for a ride," Green said. "We didn't find anything like that on his phone. All the vehicles that came into that area during the time period where he went missing we were able to identify through phone records, the tower dumps, the geofence and there was no connection. They just happened to be in the area at that time."
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Note that when you slip, the auto-response is usually to throw your arms up to balance. Shoulder width with arms over head is much narrower.
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