Police: Human remains found in Laveen sewer line

LAVEEN, Ariz. (KSAZ) - Crime scene tape was all around a Laveen neighborhood as police took their investigation from manhole to manhole.

All of it started last night after sewage began backing up into a neighbor's home.

"They knew that it wasn't an actual part of the home that was causing it, so the water department comes out around nine last night; they removed some of the manhole covers looking for the blockage," said Officer James Holmes with the Phoenix Police Department. "Once they find the blockage, they realize it's actually human remains."

Parts of an adult's body trapped in 8-inch pipes, which made for a complicated, hours-long recovery process that shut down part of the neighborhood.

"What we're going to have to do it force whatever blockage we find in there to one of those open areas right at the manhole," Ofc. Holmes said. "That's going to take a lot of work, simply because there's evidence in there and there's human remains."

It's not until that process is finished that police can start figuring out who the victim is and what exactly happened, but until then, the water systems are all back to normal, as neighbors come to terms with what was found below their streets.