Authorities Identify Man Dead For Months Inside Portable Potty
ST. CLAIR SHORES (WWJ/AP) - Authorities have identified a man whose decomposed body was found inside a portable toilet at a Lake St. Clair boat launching site.
St. Clair Shores police say 63-year-old Gary Roger Szarek, a former resident of nearby Grosse Pointe Woods, was identified through a combination of fingerprints, cellphone records and other information.
Szarek's remains were found last weekend by a security guard at a municipal boat launch on 9 Mile Road near Jefferson Avenue, about 10 miles northeast of Detroit. Autopsy results found that he died of hypothermia.
Police said the remains were so decomposed, it appears Szarek could have been dead inside the portable toilet for about five months. Investigators said Szarek, who was homeless after a foreclosure in 2010, may have been using the toilet for shelter during the frigid, snowy winter.
The boat launch site had been closed since October. Authorities said the security guard broke down the portable toilet's door, which was locked from the inside, and discovered the remains.
Police have reportedly not yet been able to contact any of Szarek's relatives. Anyone with information on his family is urged to contact police at 586-445-5305.
TM and © Copyright 2014 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2014 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
