Human body found ‘lodged’ inside apartment building’s chimney, Nebraska cops say

A human body was found “lodged” inside a Nebraska apartment building’s chimney, police said.

On Oct. 19, Norfolk Police were called to an apartment complex on reports of a potential human body inside a chimney, according to an Oct. 20 news release by the police department.

Cops and Norfolk Fire officials got to the scene and were able to extract the body from the chimney, police said.

Police found the body “sitting upright” after gaining access to the chimney that sits between the first floor and basement, officials told WJAG. Cops weren’t able to confirm whether the body belonged to a female or male.

One of the building’s tenants told Norfolk Daily News “the chimney where the body was found runs through the center of the apartment building,” the outlet reported.

After seeing “blood dripping down the walls” and realizing an odor, “a maintenance employee smashed in the wall in the basement” and found the body, according to the Norfolk Daily News.

McClatchy News reached out to Norfolk Police and Norfolk Fire on Oct. 20 for more information and is awaiting a response.

Police said they believe this was a result of an “accidental incident” but that all avenues will be reviewed.

An autopsy is scheduled to confirm the body’s identification, the release said.

Norfolk is about 120 miles northwest of Omaha.

This story was originally published October 20, 2023 at 2:03 PM with the headline "Human body found ‘lodged’ inside apartment building’s chimney, Nebraska cops say."