Mummified remains found in manhole belong to man who was electrocuted more than a year ago, autopsy report concludes

  • The remains were found on May 19 by Tucson Electric Power crews following an outage
  • An autopsy report released Thursday finds the man died of a likely electrocution one to two years before being found
  • The body was found holding box cutters, near copper wiring
  • No identity has been released, but an identification card belonging to a 51-year-old man was found on the body

By ASSOCIATED PRESS and DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Published: | Updated:


The mummified remains found in a Tucson, Arizona manhole last month likely sat there for more than a year before being discovered, an autopsy has revealed.

Investigators found an identification card belonging to a 51-year-old man on the body, but have yet to release a name pending DNA results.

Tucson Electric Power crews discovered the body the morning of May 19, following a power outage.

Death underground: Mummified remains were found in this Tucson, Arizona manhole last month, following a power outage. An autopsy report released this week revealed the body likely sat there for more than a year before it was found

Death underground: Mummified remains were found in this Tucson, Arizona manhole last month, following a power outage. An autopsy report released this week revealed the body likely sat there for more than a year before it was found

Still a mystery: The report said the man likely died of electrocution. The remains were found with an identification card belonging to a 51-year-old man, but a name has not been released pending DNA results

Still a mystery: The report said the man likely died of electrocution. The remains were found with an identification card belonging to a 51-year-old man, but a name has not been released pending DNA results

It is believed the man died of electrocution since he was found holding a pair of bolt cutters in a high-voltage utility volt, near cut copper wires.

The electricity it what caused the man's remains to become mummified.

'The amount of electricity that went through his body essentially cooked his body, and removed all of the moisture out of it,' Lt David Theel told KVOA.

The damage done to the remains is what made it difficult to identify the man, who is thought to have died underground one to to years ago. The manhole was last officially opened in 2009.

Last month, investigators were looking into identifying the man by re-hydrating his hands for fingerprinting, or dental records.

The manhole is located at the intersection of Tanque Verde Rd and Tanque Verde Loop near a junior high school.

The manhole is located at the above intersection near a junior high school and was last officially opened in 2009

The manhole is located at the above intersection near a junior high school and was last officially opened in 2009

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