Human remains found at wastewater collection point in Corpus Christi Monday afternoon

Katie Nickas, Corpus Christi Caller Times
Updated ·2 min read

The Corpus Christi Fire Department was donning hazardous materials gear and wetsuits to retrieve human remains from a deep well near the intersection of Holly and Lexington roads Monday night.

Police said they received a call Monday afternoon in reference to human remains found at the wastewater collection point.

Human remains were found by a city employee in a deep well at a waste water collection point located off of Lexington Road near South Padre Island Drive on Monday afternoon, according to Corpus Christi Police Department spokesman Antonio Contreras. The 40-foot deep wet well was drained of waste water so a fire department hazmat team could retrieve the remains.

Corpus Christi Police Department Senior Officer Antonio Contreras told reporters that CCPD received a call at about 3:31 p.m. from officials with Corpus Christi Water that alerted them to remains that were found inside what is called a "wet well." The Corpus Christi Fire Department was called out to assist, said Contreras, speaking during a news conference Monday night near the site on a bridge spanning a long ditch running between Ennis Joslin and Lexington roads.

The wastewater collection point is located near a ditch in the center of a large field that is directly across from the Cottages at Corpus Christi apartments on 9400 Ennis Joslin Road, where missing 21-year-old Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi student Caleb Harris was last seen March 4.

The well contains wastewater only, the officer clarified. It is located completely underground and had to first be drained for fire personnel to get inside, he said.

Additional personnel and equipment had to be called to assist, he said, resulting in the law enforcement personnel staying at the site for most of the afternoon and into the evening hours.

The Nueces County Medical Examiner was called out to the incident and was on standby with the other personnel, he said.

Contreras said police didn't know exactly what had been located at the collection point, and that the medical examiner would now work to identify the human remains.

The close proximity of the collection point to the student's apartment complex led to speculation among bystanders and members of the public that the remains belonged to the missing student.

Contreras made clear that the whole area had been searched many times over by police, volunteers and specialized K-9 units.

"This whole location was searched days after the initial report," he said.

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This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Human remains found at wastewater collection point Monday afternoon