TX TX - Caleb Harris, 21, Texas A&M University student, Corpus Christi, 4 Mar 2024 #3

[SMK777]

• entered the wet well at the station (unlocked) by himself or remains brought in by someone else
• foul play occurred elsewhere and remains placed in wet well at unlocked station or via wastewater manhole

Got it, thanks. So there is no way he could have gotten there by himself having an accidental fall?

 

[oakparkmall]

Got it, thanks. So there is no way he could have gotten there by himself having an accidental fall?

oh, I thought you were asking about besides that.
I'm not an expert on decomposition by any means, but falling or entering a wastewater manhole voluntarily - I believe because of the nature of wastewater (bacteria, etc) that a body can decompose rapidly, remains would then theoretically be able to move through the pipe to the wet well.

 

[SMK777]

oh, I thought you were asking about besides that.
I'm not an expert on decomposition by any means, but falling or entering a wastewater manhole voluntarily - I believe because of the nature of wastewater (bacteria, etc) that a body can decompose rapidly, remains would then theoretically be able to move through the pipe to the wet well.

Thanks. So this might have been completely accidental…..

 

[oakparkmall]

Thanks. So this might have been completely accidental…..

Of course. Unfortunately, from what authorities have said about the remains, we may never know.
I do have hope that if it is foul play that they can find something indicative (tool marks or injuries).
If these remains are Caleb's (or anyone for that matter), some kind of closure would mean everything.

 

[branmuffin]

So what is holding them back on identification? We all know that the autopsy and toxicology process can drag on. But why drag out the identification process?

I think it may have to do with the issue of foul play. Unlike Riley Strain, when he was found two weeks after going missing, all evidence pointed to misadventure. The identification was made quickly because there was no need to suppress evidence that may have been crucial to a criminal investigation. The autopsy results came in later and supported the conclusion of death by drowning via misadventure.

In this case, there has been an ongoing commentary that Caleb is the victim of foul play, not because there is any actual evidence pointing that way, but a series of circumstances that provided a mystery surrounding his absence which his parents choose to believe. If LE believe there is a possibility of foul play versus misadventure I suspect they want to hold all cards close to their vest because they can't guarantee that the family members will keep quiet about his death and compromise an investigation.

 

[Aric Hall]

Appreciate your post! Not sure if you or anyone else knows the answer to this— do the sewage system and storm water drainage systems interconnect in any way? The opinions I’ve read elsewhere are that they don’t interconnect in any way. Not sure if this is true.

I guess my main point is we don’t really know if any open manholes were part of the storm drainage system or sewer system, or if they are connected. IMO.

Will try to do more research myself!

not connected... sewage must be treated, storm drain water does not and too voluminous

 

[Inthedetails]

tnot connected... sewage must be treated, storm drain water does not and too voluminous

In my city, a large percentage of sewage and rainwater are mixed in the same drainage system. It's such a bad idea, especially in heavy downpours when the pipes are overloaded, but it's old infrastructure and I think we're stuck with it for a long time to come.

But, it seems in Corpus Christi, they are separate, which is a good thing.

So far, I'm still thinking accidental fall.

jmo

 

[Angelcat13]

There's a lot of people who like to go into areas that the public doesn't usually go. Not just kids, either. They call themselves urban explorers and like to break into empty homes, vacant factories, unused subway stations. An urban explorer broke into the Sherman residence where their murders took place prior to it being razed to the ground. People regularly go into old psychiatric hospitals, boarded up hotels, etc. and post their findings online. Some of the photos they take are incredible.

I don't really find it that unusual to be honest. When I was in high school, a couple of friends and I, crawled through the heating ducts from one end of the school to the other, entering through the air return in the gymnasium and crawling out through the last classroom on the other end. Was it dumb? Absolutely. I'm sure my mom would have been horrified by my behavior but I never told her.

Based on those images of Caleb with a spray can, he and his friends were tagging the locations they filmed themselves in and posting them online.

Urban exploration is fascinating to many people and there are many social media venues, blogs, websites, etc where people post their adventures, finds, etc. The father of a friend of my son's is into this and will access old abandoned buildings, etc. I've always wanted to go but I'm afraid of getting caught/arrested, but I do love to see his photos/videos. Unfortunately, these places are often hazardous and serious injuries and even deaths have occurred.

I'm not saying that Caleb was into this as there isn't (to my knowledge) any concrete evidence of this. But one thing REALLY stood out to me with his final post of the bridge in the fog - Caleb appears to have a "photographic eye". What I mean by this is that he sees things as if looking through a camera lens and instinctively can visualize a "good picture". I have this and will stop and photograph something that jumps out at me even though most other people may not even notice it. This can be an amazing gift, but it can also be dangerous if you are impulsive and get so focused on getting the picture that you may not notice potential hazards. I think we can all recall stories of someone stepping over a guardrail in a national park to get a better picture and falling to their death, etc.

I'm not saying that this is what happened, but if Caleb was outside waiting for his DD delivery and photographed the bridge and thought it looked cool he may have ventured into the locked field for another shot of something that caught his eye. A lot of explorers will enter places that they know are off-limits because THEY know they aren't going there to steal or vandalize anything so they see their actions as harmless. IF he did this, and IF there was an open manhole cover, I can easily see how he could have fallen into one and quickly been incapacitated by a head injury, fumes or both.

If there may have been an open manhole cover the area should have been better searched, including a search of the piping system. However, IF there was an open manhole cover the cover could have been replaced prior to it being noticed during any searches - possibly by someone not realizing it was significant, not believing it was big enough for an adult to fall into, by a worker who was afraid of getting in trouble if they may have been the one that accidentally left it open, etc.

Several years ago in South Jersey there was a woman who took a short cut across a field walking home from work and fell into an uncovered abandoned well. Fortunately, she was rescued by a man who knew about the abandoned wells and went to search the area.

Woman Stuck in Well for Two Days Rescued By Guy With Hunch - Philadelphia Magazine

A Burlington County woman was on her way home from work when she fell down a well in the woods on the property of the […]

www.phillymag.com

 

[Kudzuu]

Both storm sewer water and sewage have to be treated. Storm sewer water outlets in various ways before entering the waterway that supplies the city's drinking water. It can get complicated. But the water coming into a wastewater treatment plant is treated through various tanks and ponds.

While it sounds gross that decomposed body goes through this system it is one of less toxic stuff that needs to be removed. In fact, gasoline is one of the worst substances. Basically don't flush anything you don't eat, especially drugs or poisons.

IMO we aren't sure how CH ended up where he did. There has been some confusion about which manhole was involved. I believe it had to be at the lift station because his body couldn't get through the pipes to get to the lift station.

The sewage system and water system are separate in CC.
MOO

 

[ifindedout]

Urban exploration is fascinating to many people and there are many social media venues, blogs, websites, etc where people post their adventures, finds, etc. The father of a friend of my son's is into this and will access old abandoned buildings, etc. I've always wanted to go but I'm afraid of getting caught/arrested, but I do love to see his photos/videos. Unfortunately, these places are often hazardous and serious injuries and even deaths have occurred.

I'm not saying that Caleb was into this as there isn't (to my knowledge) any concrete evidence of this. But one thing REALLY stood out to me with his final post of the bridge in the fog - Caleb appears to have a "photographic eye". What I mean by this is that he sees things as if looking through a camera lens and instinctively can visualize a "good picture". I have this and will stop and photograph something that jumps out at me even though most other people may not even notice it. This can be an amazing gift, but it can also be dangerous if you are impulsive and get so focused on getting the picture that you may not notice potential hazards. I think we can all recall stories of someone stepping over a guardrail in a national park to get a better picture and falling to their death, etc.

I'm not saying that this is what happened, but if Caleb was outside waiting for his DD delivery and photographed the bridge and thought it looked cool he may have ventured into the locked field for another shot of something that caught his eye. A lot of explorers will enter places that they know are off-limits because THEY know they aren't going there to steal or vandalize anything so they see their actions as harmless. IF he did this, and IF there was an open manhole cover, I can easily see how he could have fallen into one and quickly been incapacitated by a head injury, fumes or both.

If there may have been an open manhole cover the area should have been better searched, including a search of the piping system. However, IF there was an open manhole cover the cover could have been replaced prior to it being noticed during any searches - possibly by someone not realizing it was significant, not believing it was big enough for an adult to fall into, by a worker who was afraid of getting in trouble if they may have been the one that accidentally left it open, etc.

RSBM
I doubt he decided to do some spur-of-the-moment urbex without shoes, though. MOO
BTW, source for him being last seen barefoot:

‘Please pray’: College student from New Braunfels reported missing in Corpus Christi

Caleb Harris was letting his dog out early Monday morning when he disappeared. On Wednesday, more than 100 volunteers searched for the missing TAMU-CC student.

www.kens5.com

 

[JerseyWasHome2]

Locked when the worker discovered remains. Was it locked the night Caleb went missing? Two completely different days.

Yeah, that was awful wording on the author’s part.

 

[daswagen]

Here in Texas the storm drains literally say "drains to bay" on them. It does not get treated, just pumped. The drain in the street goes to the bay, the drain from my toilet goes to the sewage plant.

 

[SMK777]

Locked when the worker discovered remains. Was it locked the night Caleb went missing? Two completely different days.

Right. What matters most is whether or not it was locked the night he disappeared. How they can determine that at this point in time is anyone’s guess.

 

[ifindedout]

Right. What matters most is whether or not it was locked the night he disappeared. How they can determine that at this point in time is anyone’s guess.

There might be a log at Corpus Christi Water indicating who last unlocked and re-locked it, along with other manholes.

 

[SMK777]

There might be a log at Corpus Christi Water indicating who last unlocked and re-locked it, along with other manholes.

Good point, very likely. Although sometimes things are checked off but wind up not being done. But I suppose these city workers are to be trusted.

 

[ifindedout]

Good point, very likely. Although sometimes things are checked off but wind up not being done. But I suppose these city workers are to be trusted.

It's more than just trust. Manholes are, by definition, confined spaces, and there are, or should be, occupational safety and health protocols governing ingress into, occupation within, and egress from them.

Confined space - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

 

[Angelcat13]

RSBM
I doubt he decided to do some spur-of-the-moment urbex without shoes, though. MOO
BTW, source for him being last seen barefoot:

I can see him not entering a building barefoot, but if he thought it was just a grassy field, maybe. I pretty much only wear shoes if I have to and think nothing of walking around barefoot outside, even around the block.

 

[JackieBrown]

From the Sherrif’s language, it sounded to me like he believed the body was moved or impacted by the rain/sewer at least at the time of this interview.

From Independent article days ago:

“Police aren't sure how the body ended up in the sewage system.

"It's been pretty dry lately," said Chief Markle. "And with this tropical storm, I guess we got like seven inches of rain over the whole event. And that just kind of shook up the sewage system. And wherever that body may have been, it kind of flushed it out."”

MSN

BBM

 

[slowpoke]

There might be a log at Corpus Christi Water indicating who last unlocked and re-locked it, along with other manholes.

“City documents show there are about 105 lift stations in the city, and they are checked at varying levels of frequency. This is one of the smaller lift stations in the city.”
Link, kiiitv.com

(Bolded by me)
===

So, as you say, there should be some kind of record-keeping for who and when checks were done.

 

[Inthedetails]

It's more than just trust. Manholes are, by definition, confined spaces, and there are, or should be, occupational safety and health protocols governing ingress into, occupation within, and egress from them.

People make mistakes. I mentioned upthread about a man in my city who fell down a manhole during the night that was left uncovered at the end of the work day. It was later covered without the workers realizing someone fell down it.

I can't shake that scenario from my head in this case too.

jmo