Saturday, March 12, 2022

Workers find mummified human body behind wall at old Oakland convention hall

The human remains were found behind a wall at the Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center, pictured here around 1917, in Oakland, Calif. Officials say they'd likely been there for a long time. File Photo

March 10 (UPI) -- Construction workers in Northern California stumbled upon a grisly find when they were performing renovations recently on a convention facility in Oakland, officials said.

Crews have been performing the renovations at the Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center, the Alameda County Sheriff's Office said.

Inside, one of the workers came upon a frightening find behind the drywall between two concrete pillars near the venue's concert hall -- mummified human remains.

The convention center has been closed since 2005 and had been undergoing remodeling for the past few years.

"The cavity where the individual was found was approximately 15 inches in width and 12 inches in height," Oakland Police Lt. Frederick Shavies said, according to KNTV-TV.

Shavies said the remains belonged to a man who probably died a long time ago, given their condition.

Investigators said they hope DNA and dental records will identify the body. If the hands on the body were preserved well enough, they might also be able to take fingerprints.

The convention center, which first opened in 1914, was being renovated as a multi-use space for artists and offices. While the city of Oakland still owns the facility, the city council reached a deal with Orton Development in 2015 for the redevelopment.

Century-old makeup case found at Arizona's Petrified Forest National Park

A rusted metal container found at Arizona's Petrified Forest National Park was found to contain "some very dried-out cosmetics" that might date from more than 100 years ago. Photo courtesy of Petrified Forest National Park/Facebook

March 10 (UPI) -- National Parks Service officials said a rusted metal case found buried at Petrified Forest National Park turned out to contain makeup dating back more than 100 years.

Petrified Forest National Park officials said in a Facebook post that the "small metal case" was found at the site of a homestead that was "owned by the Howell family around 1900."

"At first the case was rusted shut and we were uncertain of its contents," the post said.

Officials were eventually able to open the case, revealing "some very dried-up cosmetics."

"This cosmetics case likely belonged to one of the women of the Howell ranch or the Olson family who bought the property in the 1930s," the post said.

The National Parks Service said the makeup case and other "personal items help tell the story of the generations of women who have called the Petrified Forest landscape home."

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