Recycling truck workers in Edmonton found a man’s body Thursday morning in a load of paper and cardboard.
After stopping at more than 50 locations to pick up cardboard and paper in north Edmonton, they headed to Capital Paper Recycling Ltd. at 15003 128 Ave. to deposit the truck’s contents.
“When they dumped that truckload, there was an adult male found deceased amongst the recycled papers,” homicide Staff Sgt. Bill Clark told CBC News.
Clark said the body was fully clothed but showed signs of trauma.
“The male has some injuries that are definitely consistent with what looked like the crushing of the truck,” he said.
“But there are also some other injuries that are a little bit suspicious. It could still be quite likely caused by the truck and the whole incident of being put in there. But we’re going to treat it as suspicious right now.”
The medical examiner was called to the scene. An autopsy will be performed Friday.
“I’m not saying this is going to be criminal, but we’ve got to err on the side of caution,” Clark said.
Meanwhile, officers are trying to narrow down the location where the body could have been picked up, with the help of the recycling company. Police are hoping they may be able to review video evidence.
Clark noted this isn’t the first time recycling employees have encountered a dead body. One body was found at Capital Paper Recycling in 2012, and another in 2013.
Clark said in previous incidents, the deaths were ruled non-criminal.
“This could just be a person who crawled in there to sleep.”