AIKAWA, Kanagawa — Skeletal remains of multiple people were discovered in hemp sacks at a material storage yard in this eastern Japan town in mid-August, the Mainichi Shimbun has learned from sources close to the investigation.
The remains apparently included skulls from four individuals and femur and upper arm bones from about five to six people. Kanagawa Prefectural Police are treating the case as abandonment of bodies, believing that someone left them there.
According to the sources, at around 5 p.m. on Aug. 19, a man managing the storage site found four hemp sacks that appeared to have been illegally dumped. Upon checking inside, he found what seemed to be human bones and reported it at Atsugi Police Station's Takamine substation. Three of the skulls are believed to be male and one female, with some bones covered in what appeared to be mud.
The police are working on identifying the remains through DNA analysis.
The site is located in a mountainous area where farmland and junkyards are scattered around. The storage site has been used by a Sri Lankan man who runs a used car export company and rents the land. In an interview with the Mainichi Shimbun, he stated that the sacks were left by someone, and he did not know anything about them.
A nearby resident expressed concern, saying, "This area has abandoned cars, and I've heard things were stolen before. Police have been coming daily since the other day, and if something happened again, it's frightening."
(Japanese original by Chika Yokomi, Yokohama Bureau)
by Dapper-Material5930