Walter Stephens, a Texas plumber in San Antonio, was cutting grass when he saw something unusual. What he believed was a “dried cantaloupe” turned out to be a decomposing human skull, a discovery that left him in shock.
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As reported by KSAT, the discovery occurred on September 15. Stephens, a Harrell Commercial Plumbing employee, was outside the North San Jacinto Street plumbing business building at the time.
While cutting grass, something caught Stephens’ eye, lying just outside the building’s entrance, near some dog water bowls.
“I saw what looked like a dried cantaloupe or something,” Stephens told the outlet. “I picked it up, and the bottom part of the jaw stayed on the ground. When I turned it over and saw the teeth, I was like, ‘Oh my God.’”
A Human Skull
That “cantaloupe” was, in fact, a decomposing human skull. The discovery was shocking, to say the least, and Stephens immediately informed his employer, the plumbing business’s vice president, Brad Harrell. He, in turn, contacted the San Antonio Police Department (SAPD).
“You don’t think you’re going to see a human skull, ever really,” Harrell said. “There was no skin or anything on it. It had been decomposed for a while.”
SAPD officers and Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office personnel responded to the scene. Reportedly, detectives found more remains in a creek behind the plumbing business. Small body parts, bones, and a detached mandible were located by SAPD officers, as per KSAT.
The medical examiner’s office then identified the remains as 30-year-old Austin Thomas Wyrosdick.
Stephens and Harrell, both dumbfounded, believe that the remains had not been in the area for long. Harrell, in particular, thinks that a person or an animal had picked the skull and dropped it at the location it was found.
This was complemented by Walter Stephens, who said that the skull was not there earlier in the day, as per KENS5.
“It’s sad, but it was good I found him,” Stephens said, adding that the incident has given him a renovated perspective on life. “Once you start getting down, then you stay down. All depressed. It’s not worth it. Just got to stay happy.”
Authorities have yet to release the cause and manner of death for Wyrosdick.