Horrifying moment passer-by asks ‘what’s in here, bodies?’ as she unwittingly helped 2 men lug cases with human remains
A HORRIFIED passerby asked “what’s in here, bodies?” as she unknowingly helped two mystery men lug suitcases full of human remains onto Clifton Suspension Bridge.
Cops are on an urgent manhunt after two cases “leaking blood” were abandoned on the landmark, in Bristol, on Wednesday night.
Witness Giles Malone told how he and his wife were waiting for a taxi outside a pub when they saw two men “lifting these suitcases” at the bridge.
Giles, who lives in Florida, USA, said a woman, who appeared to be a passerby, joked with the two men about what was in the bags.
There was blood on the floor along the bridge. The man who had the cases ran from the bridge staff and I saw him being chased by a member of the public on a bike
Eye-witness
He told LBC: “My wife and I were watching the football game with my dad in Clifton Village and we left my dad’s flat at 10.30pm after the football game.
“We were waiting for an Uber on the corner by the pub and we were stood there waiting for our car.
‘”A man and another man got out of another car across the street and they were lifting these suitcases across the road for some reason, right by us.
“The lady who was helping them said ‘these are the heaviest suitcases I’ve ever lifted. What’s in them? bodies?’.
“We sort of semi-joked about it but they didn’t say anything.”
He described the bags as “old, tatty suitcases – two big ones”, and identified one of the men as “African-American” and the other as “white”.
Mr Malone added how when he heard the bridge was closed today, he wondered if it was all connected.
“I immediately looked at my wife and said: ‘I wonder if that is a coincidence from last night?’,” he said.
He is now talking to cops about what he saw, and added how the men “didn’t really say anything” but were “just struggling with these cases”.
“I think this lady must have helped them because she made that comment,” Mr Malone added.
Another eyewitness said he was walking with his girlfriend nearby at the time.
“There were two suitcases, one left on the bridge with what appeared to be blood leaking from it, the other case was on the road just after the bridge on the Leigh Woods side,” he told Bristol Live.
“There was blood on the floor along the bridge. The man who had the cases ran from the bridge staff and I saw him being chased by a member of the public on a bike.
“The cyclist followed the man, who was wearing a dark or black clothing, and was seen running down Burwalls.”
CCTV FOOTAGE
The force have now released CCTV footage of a suspect who went towards Leigh Wood after officers arrived at the grim scene just before midnight.
He left behind one case, and a second case was located nearby a short time later.
Avon and Somerset Police said they were still “working out” who the suspect is following initial reports at 11.57pm.
A police helicopter and the Coastguard are helping investigators with their manhunt.
They have established the man was taken to the 331ft tall bridge in a taxi.
He is described as black with a beard, wearing a black Adidas baseball cap, black jeans, a black jacket, white trainers and had a black backpack.
The force have urged people not to approach him and call 999 if he is sighted, but have said they are unaware of any current risk to the wider public.
ONGOING SEARCH
Acting Bristol Commander Vicks Hayward-Melen said this afternoon at the scene: “Sadly, the suitcases contained human remains.
“The searches remain ongoing.
“Our immediate priority is to locate the man who took suitcases to the bridge, identify the deceased and inform the next of kin.
“An immediate search of the area was carried out by officers on the ground with the support of the National Police Air Service and HM Coastguard following the discovery of the suitcases.
“Initial inquiries have established the man was taken to the bridge in a taxi.
“This vehicle has been seized and the driver is helping us with our inquiries.
“Specialist crime scene investigators are currently examining the bridge and surrounding area, and the bridge will remain closed while these inquiries are conducted.”
Acting Bristol Commander Vicks Hayward-Melen said at the scene she could not confirm whether or not the remains were of more than one person.
She was also asked about parallels between the incident and Jack O’Sullivan’s case, the university student who went missing more than four months ago after attending a party in Bristol.
The police chief added: “So I understand the parallels that might be made with with Jack’s case and we would ask anybody to avoid any speculation at this time.
“What I can confirm is just because of the nature of the incident and the concerns that people may have as you’ve pointed out there, a senior officer has been in contact with Jack’s family to inform them of the incident, but I can confirm at this time that no parallels are being actively drawn.”
She added: “Officers are currently working to track his movements through CCTV and I can confirm that we know he left in the direction of Leigh Woods behind me.”
A post-mortem examination will take place later today.