Homicide detectives are investigating after human remains were discovered in the Kern River over the weekend, authorities said.
Deputies and park rangers were dispatched to the river just east of Hart Park on Sunday evening after receiving a report that possible human remains had been located in the water, according to a Kern County Sheriff’s Office news release.
The remains — confirmed to be a decomposing human arm — were found in a bag by a group of juveniles swimming in the area, the Bakersfield Californian reported Tuesday, citing sheriff’s Lt. Henry Bravo.
He said the bag also contained other items, though what those were have not been disclosed yet by officials.
Authorities do not believe the limb is related to an SUV found further down the river that same weekend, Bravo told the newspaper.
The gruesome discovery marked the second time in two months that a human body part was located in a Kern County body of water.
Late last month, a 5-year-old girl found part of a human leg along Buena Vista Lake after the severed limb washed ashore, according to Bakersfield television station KGET.
DNA tests are being conducted on both body parts as authorities seek to make a positive identification.
Anyone with information can contact the Kern County Sheriff’s Office by calling 661-861-3110; those who wish to leave an anonymous tip should dial 661-322-4040.
