San Antonio Man Finds Skull While Cutting Grass, Examiner Identifies Remains

An employee was cutting the grass at a San Antonio plumbing business when he stumbled upon a skull.

“I saw what looked like a dried cantaloupe or something,” Walter Stephens told ABC affiliate KSAT about the gruesome discovery he made on Monday, Sept. 15, on the lawn near Harrell Commercial Plumbing.

He continued, “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.’ ”

Stephens told the outlet that he alerted his boss, Brad Harrell, the vice president of the company, about what he’d found. Harrell immediately called the police, the outlet reported.

The San Antonio Police Department said in a release shared with PEOPLE that officers responded to reports of a “found skull” at 1300 Block of N San Jacinto Street on that Monday at around 1:34 p.m. local time. When officials arrived at the scene, they discovered “a possible human skull that was decomposing.” 

The men were processing what they’d found when talking to local media.

“You don’t think you’re going to see a human skull, ever really,” Harrell told KSAT. “There was no skin or anything on it. It had been decomposed for a while.”

Harrell said that detectives informed him that other remains were found near the creek that’s located behind the business, including multiple bones and a detached mandible, the outlet reported. In their statement, authorities said they located “other small possible body parts” after securing the scene.

The remains were later identified by the local coroner as belonging to Austin Thomas Wyrosdick, 30, KSAT and CBS affiliate KENS reported. The police described the incident as an “apparent sudden death.”

The Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed to PEOPLE that the cause and manner of Wyrosdick’s death are still pending. 

As the investigation continues, Stephens and Harrell have their own theories about what occurred. They often frequent the area and don’t think the remains were there long, the men told KSAT. 

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“Either someone picked it up and dropped it off there, or some type of animal moved it,” Harrell told the outlet. “It wasn’t knee-high grass where you’re cutting the grass and are like, ‘Whoa, hey there it is.’ ”

In an interview with KENS, Stephens said the skull was found near bowls to feed stray dogs.

“It’s sad,” Stephens told the outlet, “but it was good I found him.”