CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — A body thought to be at the bottom of a well under a Chillicothe turns out to be only animal bones.
According to the Chillicothe Police Department, on Sunday, police received a tip regarding a possible dead body in a basement well at 95 North Hickory Street. The individual told officers that he had seen a body wrapped in a bag in the well. The individual who provided the tip stated that he did not climb into the well but believed that the body had been there for a while. The tipster, during an interview, said he believed that he saw what appeared to be a person sitting with their back against the wall and their feet out in front of them wrapped in a tarp or plastic. At the time, he told police, that he was worried that anyone in the house would get in trouble for the deceased person and he had been mentally bothered by the thought of it and wanted to tell someone.
Once at the home, police spoke to the property manager who stated that she had been trying to get squatters removed from the property. The manager had found a dead animal next to the well, but nothing else of note. The police searched the area and found the well, which was located about 10-20 feet deep in a crawl space under the floor. The well was covered by a metal lid and there was a green carpet leading to it.
The police were able to crawl back to the well and take photos, “which showed the ground had possibly been disturbed recently,” according to a police report obtained by the Guardian. A canine unit from the Ross County Sheriff’s Office was called to the scene but did not alert authorities to the presence of any decomposition, the report read.
On Monday, detectives, as well as members of the Chillicothe Fire Department, Ross County Coroner’s Office, and an anthropologist from Ohio State University returned to the home to continue the investigation.
In an updated report obtained by the Guardian police said, the property owner gave authorities permission to remove the bathtub and floor directly over the well. The Chillicothe Fire Department used a ladder and harness system to lower an investigator with the Coroner’s Office into the well. Once in the well, officials said, the investigator was able to identify the bones as being animal in origin. No human remains were located. The well was searched by the investigator’s and no “evidence of human activity was found”
Since no human remains were located, police say the case is now closed.
