ST. LUCIE COUNTY, Fla. — The St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office was investigating the discovery of human remains found Thursday in a rural area.
Deputies said the remains were located just north of the intersection of St. Lucie Boulevard and Taylor Dairy Road near Fort Pierce.
"I'm going to be limited in some of the stuff I can answer just because this is a very active investigation," Chief Deputy Brian Hester said during a news conference.
Hester said somebody who was working in the area "happened to notice an odor that attracted their attention, and they started to look around and they actually found the body."
He said it appeared the man's remains had been there for some time.
"It's severely decomposed, and we all know that there's a lot of nature up in that area as well," Hester said.
Victor Silva, who works down the road from where the remains were found, said the area is mostly farmland and industrial businesses.
"Since there's not many people outside wandering around, then it would be the perfect place to dump a body," Silva said.
He said he often works into the night and knowing that the person responsible could still be out there has him on alert.
"Just that he's found and that way at least I have some peace of mind stepping out of the building to my car late at night [knowing] that there's no psycho out there, crazy person," Silva said.
Investigators said the body may have been there for up to a month.
Once they can identify the remains, they can investigate the cause.
"Hopefully they can find who did it and why and everything they need to find closure," Silva said.
The medical examiner will determine the cause of death.