MANSFIELD — Mansfield police and the Richland County Coroner’s Office on Tuesday morning were investigating a dead body found in an attic crawl space on West Third Street.
Bob Ball, chief investigator for the coroner’s office, said the remains were found Monday afternoon by a crew working to install electrical wire at the vacant 270 1/2 W. Third St. residence.
According to a press release from Mansfield police Chief Jason Bammann, officers were called at 5:18 p.m. He said patrol officers secured the residence and cordoned off the area. Detectives found the human remains, the chief said.
He said local officials are being assisted by representatives of Mercyhurst University, a school based in Erie, Pa., forensic anthropology team assisted with identifying the remains.
Ball said local authorities have worked with Mercyhurst several times in the past, including the successful identification of an Ashland woman whose body was found in November in a wooded area of North Lake Park in Mansfield.
“We’re trying to get in there to get it (the remains) removed intact if we can. That’s why Mercyhurst was called in to do that portion of it,” Ball said.
(Photos from outside a house at 270 1/2 W. Third St. where a body was found on Monday afternoon.)
He said the gender of the body has not been determined. Ball said the body was found lying in insulation and didn’t know yet how long it may have been there.
“We’ll let Mercyhurst give me an idea on that,” he said.
Ball said there was no furniture inside the vacant, two-story house, but he didn’t know long it had been vacant.
“Quite awhile … I don’t know. I normally don’t get into that side of it, so I don’t know. That’s something you could talk to police about to see if they even know,” Ball said.
Ball said he didn’t know how long it would take to identify the body.
“Everything’s a process with this, especially when you find them in this condition. It takes a while to do that. That’s all forensic stuff. That’s why they call that (Mercyhurst) team in,” he said.
“They have got a lot of forensic equipment they’re able to work with, with. They’ve got some good doctors over there who do this for a living. Hopefully, we’ll have this put to rest, whoever it is. Somebody’s missing from some place,” Ball said.
Bammann said additional details will be released once the scene is processed and investigators gather more information.
Anyone with information about the investigation is asked to call Det. Terry Butler at 419-755-9791.