Seattle Police Investigates Human Remains Found In Bags Along Elliot Bay

Seattle police authorities are investigating the discovery of ‘several bags’ of human remains washed up Friday on the shores of Elliot Bay in West Seattle. The officers were at the scene in response to a call about a suspicious bag found on the shores of the beach, reports say. After searching the area, officers discovered a second bag floating nearby.

Human Remains

According to Steven Buty, a resident who lives nearby, he saw a police boat and also an inflatable boat searching the waters. He then saw them take a black plastic bag out of the water with a hook; he told KOMO News, an ABC-affiliated TV station.

As soon as authorities determined the plastic bag contained human remains, detectives were immediately called to the scene to begin investigations. It was not clear yet if the remains belong to a single person or two persons and whether they are male or female. Police authorities also did not say if the bags were left on the beach or were brought in by tides.

A Gruesome Discovery

In a separate report filed by The Sun, the gruesome discovery was actually made by a group of TikTok teens who were out making a video for later posting on the popular social media platform. They told The Sun they used an app called Randonautica, which pointed them to shoreline close to Pike’s Place Market, a popular tourist attraction in the area.

When they saw the black suitcase, which they thought might have been washed ashore, they joked it might contain money. One of the teens volunteered to go down the rocky shore to check out the bag as her companions filmed her. That was when they noticed an overwhelming smell, causing one of them to shout in the background that it stinks. The unidentified teen is then filmed using a stick to cautiously open the luggage, which then revealed the black plastic bag inside. “By this point, we were getting a little scared and nervous,” said one of the unnamed teens.

Calling The Police

A TikTok user that goes by the name ‘UghHenry’ posted the video Saturday and captioned it with: “Something traumatic happened that changed my life.” Another teenage girl was seen in the video calling the police as soon as they were able to pry open the black luggage containing the plastic bag. A male voice can be heard in the video, saying, “OK she's calling the police so we can see if it is a dead body or if it's just food.”

The teens returned to the beach later to take videos of police cars and officers at the scene. The Seattle Police Department confirmed the bag did contain human remains and that a second bag has been found nearby. “Detectives are currently investigating after several bags containing human remains were located near the water in the 1100 block of Alki Avenue SW this afternoon,” the police said in a statement.