(CNN) — People cleaning out the freezer of a recently sold home in western Colorado made a gruesome discovery: a human head and hand.
The Mesa County Sheriff’s Office first announced the discovery of “possible human remains” in a January 12 news release. In an update Thursday, they said the coroner’s office had performed an autopsy and confirmed the remains were a human head and hand.
“At this time, we do not have any other definitive answers until further testing is completed,” the sheriff’s office said in a Thursday news release. “These types of tests take a significant amount of time and, again, we ask for the public’s patience as this investigation continues.”
“A thorough and detailed investigation is the top priority of the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office,” the statement continued. “Our hope is that the victim is positively identified out of respect for the victim and the victim’s family.”
The sheriff’s office did not indicate whether the cause of death or the gender of the victim had been identified.
In the first press release, they reported that “Investigators believe this is an isolated incident and there is no continuing threat to the community.”
The remains were found in a home in Grand Junction, Colorado, about 200 miles west of Denver. The sheriff’s office confirmed in an email to CNN that the remains were found in the home’s freezer.
Sam Troester, who lives across the street from the home, told CNN affiliate KUSA that workers in white hazmat suits first drew his attention to the investigation in his neighborhood.
“I feel really bad,” Troester told KUSA. “I would hate to be a family missing a loved one right now. That would be heartbreaking.”
