2:41 PM: A decomposed body found Thursday night inside a San Francisco Public Utilities Commission stormwater discharge box along the bay shore is that of an unidentified adult male, police said today.
A sewer operations crew performing an annual inspection found the man’s body at about 8:30 p.m. at the Embarcadero near Brannan Street, and immediately notified police, utilities commission spokesman Tony Winnicker said.
Police and fire crews waited until this morning’s low tide to remove the body.
The body was extricated by 7 a.m., after about an hour’s work, according to Fire Department spokeswoman Lt. Mindy Talmadge.
The medical examiner’s office has not identified the man.
Police spokeswoman Sgt. Lyn Tomioka said homicide investigators are investigating the death, which is considered suspicious, though she added there was no direct evidence of any criminal activity.
Tomioka said it was unknown how long the body had been there, but it was described as “very decomposed.”
Winnicker declined to speculate on how the body might have gotten into the stormwater discharge box.
“They do have mechanical gates on them, so it would certainly be difficult,” Winnicker said.
The commission maintains several of the large structures around the bay and ocean sides of the city, he said, to prevent sewer overflows onto the streets or into homes during major storms.
10:48 AM: Police are investigating a body found Thursday night inside a San Francisco Public Utilities Commission stormwater discharge box along the bay shore, authorities said.
A sewer operations crew performing an annual inspection found the body at about 8:30 p.m. at the Embarcadero near Brannan Street, and immediately notified police, utilities commission spokesman Tony Winnicker said.
Police and fire crews waited until this morning’s low tide to remove the body, Winnicker said.
Police spokeswoman Sgt. Lyn Tomioka said homicide investigators are investigating the death, which is considered suspicious.
It was not immediately known whether the body was that of a man or a woman, she said.
Winnicker declined to speculate on how the body might have gotten into the stormwater discharge box.
“They do have mechanical gates on them, so it would certainly be difficult,” Winnicker said.
The commission maintains several of the large structures around the bay and ocean sides of the city, he said, to prevent sewer overflows onto the streets or into homes during major storms.
