Mummified Body Found Inside Wall at Old Oakland Kaiser Convention Center
OAKLAND (CBS SF) -- Authorities in the East Bay have confirmed Wednesday evening that a mummified body was found inside a wall at the old Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center in Oakland.
The Alameda County Sheriff's Office confirmed to CBS SF reports that a body of undetermined sex and age was discovered inside a wall at the long-closed convention center located next to Lake Merritt and Laney College.
Authorities said the body had been inside the wall long enough to mummify, making it impossible to easily determine the person's age or gender.
According to reports, the body was found by construction workers as they demolished an interior wall.
The Henry J. Kaiser Center is owned by the city of Oakland and was closed in 2005 when officials decided Oakland's operating costs for the building were too expensive to sustain. Despite being declared an Oakland-designated historic landmark, the structure has fallen into increasing disrepair.
In 2015, the Oakland City Council authorized an exclusive negotiation agreement with Orton Development, Inc. Orton has proposed to rehabilitate and adaptively reuse the building as a performing arts venue and commercial space, leasing it from Oakland.
Construction on the project was scheduled to begin in 2020.
The Alameda County Sheriff's Office confirmed the county coroner is on the scene.
