A human heart was found in Tennessee by workers making brine, prompting a law enforcement investigation to determine the organ’s origins, state officials said.
Workers found the heart Thursday at a state Department of Transportation salt facility in McEwen, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said.
McEwen is about 60 miles southwest of Nashville.
“An initial examination of the heart determined that it was that of an adult male,” the bureau said in a statement Sunday. “Additional DNA testing will be performed to try to determine its origin. This remains an active and ongoing investigation.”
The statement said 23rd Judicial District Attorney General Ray Crouch requested the agency investigate. The probe will be conducted along with deputies with the Humphreys County Sheriff’s Office, the state bureau said.
Humphreys County Sheriff Chris Davis told NBC affiliate WSMV of Nashville: “I’ve got 32 years in in law enforcement. I do have to say this is probably in the top 5 of most bizarre things that I’ve ever seen.”
The news outlet reported as workers retrieved salt from their barn, they discovered what they believed to be a weirdly shaped rock. The heart appeared to be there for a while and was dehydrated from the salt, Davis told WSMV.
No one with the sheriff’s office could be reached Monday afternoon.
The state Department of Transportation is “fully cooperating with law enforcement as they continue their investigation,” a spokesperson with the agency said in a statement Monday.
This story first appeared on NBCNews.com.