A decomposed body has been found inside a car that was scheduled to be scrapped, according to Alabama police.
Police in Jasper, just northwest of Birmingham, said in a Wednesday, March 15, Facebook post that they were alerted to a death inside a vehicle after they received numerous calls.
When officers arrived at a shopping center at 1200 Highway 78, they located a dead man inside a car.
![Stock image of a police car](https://d.newsweek.com/en/full/2209655/stock-image-police-car.jpg?w=1200&f=7613139efdde6af566b37523a569b7e4)
The Facebook release said: "A deceased male was discovered in an advanced state of decomposition inside a vehicle scheduled for scrap behind the business.
"Narcotics and paraphernalia around the body indicated overdose was the likely cause of death."
Georgia Clean Trauma Services, a cleanup company that deals with biohazard waste, stated advanced decay was the fourth of five stages of human decomposition.
It added: "What remains are the tougher material including bones, hair, ligaments, and cartilage which chewing insects will then come to process."
The police Facebook release added: "Jasper Fire Department assisted in the removal of the body from the vehicle, which was then turned over to the Walker County Coroners Office.
"Detectives with our office were able to identify the man, but release of his identity is pending notification of his family."
As of March 15, the man's identity has not been released to the public.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were 1,029 overdose deaths in Alabama in 2020. When adjusted for age, it means there were 22.3 overdose deaths per 100,000 people in the state that year.
The CDC stated that there were an estimated 107,622 drug overdose deaths in the U.S. in 2021.
It added the figure represented an increase of nearly 15 percent from the 93,655 overdose deaths in 2020.
Newsweek has contacted the Jasper Police Department for comment.
Last year, a woman's body was left in a car for 23 days in the parking lot of a Las Vegas airport.
The car was left inside the garage in Paradise, Nevada, at Harry Reid International Airport and was yards away from passenger pickup, according to documents obtained by 8 News Now.
On March 12, police in Chico, northern California, were alerted to reports of "suspicious circumstances" at 2051 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway.
When emergency medical responders arrived, they confirmed the man inside the vehicle was dead. It was later found that the man had suffered visible injuries which prompted police to launch a homicide investigation.
About the writer
Anders Anglesey is a U.S. News Reporter based in London, U.K., covering crime, politics, online extremism and trending stories. Anders ... Read more