NEW HAVEN - At about 7 p.m., police discovered what appears to be at least one human arm in a plastic bag on a ledge below the Chapel Street Bridge near Union Avenue.
Police are trying to figure out what happened after the discovery of two human legs prior to the arm found on Court Street in New Haven earlier Wednesday.
Police first heard about supposed human remains in the vicinity Monday. But, it wasn’t until late Wednesday morning that they learned the tip was valid.
Wednesday morning, a man, believed to be homeless, escorted cops to the exact spot, near the State Street train station, where two human, severed, lower legs, with socks on the feet, were laying next to a fence beneath some heavy brush.
The body parts were discovered very close to State Street, a busy New Haven roadway.
Police said they cannot identify the race, gender or age of the victim at this time.
The medical examiner is expected to release more details about the identity of the victim after tests are completed.
The Chief State Medical Examiner’s office is "going to take the lead in the forensic end of it as far as the actual body parts that have been found,” said Officer David Hartman, of the New Haven Police Department. “They'll be removed to their office and they will conduct their investigation from that point.”
It remains unclear if there are any other body parts in this vicinity. But, once the medical examiner clears the scene, the police can begin their tedious, grid pattern search.
These legs have been here, or at least in this condition, for some time. Hartman said they had been there for over a week.
New Haven police typically deal with approximately 600 missing persons cases every year, most involving runaways. Nearly all are found safe.
Police say they will check through missing persons cases locally and from around the area in an attempt to find a match.
“We have to involve investigators, and especially missing persons investigators, from other jurisdictions as well,” said Hartman.
As was the case earlier, neither the age, gender or ethnicity can be determined by the cursory examination of the newest finding. There is also no certainty, without a forensic examination for police to determine if the body parts found earlier are related to those found more recently.
A cadaver dog, from the Connecticut State Police, also swept the scene.
