Seattle Police Find 'Several Bags' of 'Human Remains' at Washington Beach

Police in Seattle launched an investigation after bags containing human remains were found Friday on a beach near the shoreline of Elliott Bay.

"Detectives are currently investigating after several bags containing human remains were located near the water in the 1100 block of Alki Avenue SW this afternoon," the Seattle Police Department said in a statement.

The police responded to a call reporting a "suspicious bag on the beach," at a park across from the city's main waterfront and Pike Place Market, NBC News reported.

"Police responded after receiving a call of a suspicious bag on the beach. Another bag was located in the water. Once the contents were determined to be remains, detectives responded to begin their investigation," the department said in its statement.

It is not clear how many bodies are involved and their identities are yet to be determined.

"Harbor Patrol is assisting on the call, and detectives will work closely with the King County Medical Examiner's Office as the investigation proceeds. This remains an active and on-going investigation," the department said.

Newsweek has contacted the Seattle Police Department for an update on the incident.

According to the Seattle Police Department's Crime Dashboard, there have been 14 homicides in the area so far in 2020. For the whole of last year, there were 28 homicides and in 2018 there were 32.

Last month, two people were arrested on suspicion of murder after an officer found human remains in a suitcase being carried by a couple near the border of England and Wales in the U.K.

The discovery was made near a roadway between Coleford, a town in the county of Gloucestershire in southwest England, and Monmouth, a town in the county of Monmouthshire in southeast Wales.

Last year, human remains were found in a suitcase left in a southeast Indianapolis creek. Police confirmed the remains did not belong to an infant.

A spokesperson for the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department said at the time: "Maybe someone was sick, maybe there was some other outside influence that made this person die. But never put any remains inside of a suitcase. It's just a terrible way to treat that [person]."

Also last year, a young woman's body was discovered in a suitcase in a wooded area off Glenville Road in Greenwich, Connecticut. Her hands and feet were bound.

It was later determined that the victim was Valerie Reyes, 24, of New York. Her former boyfriend, 25-year-old Javier Da Silva, pleaded guilty to killing her in February 2020, CBS New York reported.