Human remains found inside floating barrel in South San Diego Bay

SAN DIEGO (KUSI) — Human remains were found stuffed inside a sealed barrel chained to the bottom of the San Diego Bay Thursday afternoon.

A man, who was cleaning his boat, called police at 12:22 p.m. when he saw a plastic drum floating on the surface of the bay. The container was chained to the cement block underwater, and when authorities arrived, it was towed to the Chula Vista Marina off J Street and Marina Parkway.

Once there, police noticed an odd smell coming from the barrel and soon discovered the human remains. Acting Captain Eric Thunberg of the Chula Vista Police Department said the age and gender of the person is unclear.

Thunberg said the case is being treated as a homicide.

"This is not normal,” Thunberg said. "We have a body crammed inside a barrel, that is not normal. Something went wrong.”

Authorities had received a call about a floating barrel in the bay about 10:30 a.m. on Thursday. But when police responded to the area, they were unable to find it and they could not get back in touch with the people who reported the sighting. Thunberg believes it was the same barrel where the body was found.

A medical examiner investigator is scheduled to take the body and conduct an investigation on the cause of death, and help determine the identity of the victim.