A police investigation is underway after a man's body was found partially hanging from a heating and air vent in a soul food restaurant.
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On Sept. 14, employees at Walter's Soul Food Cafe in Atlanta, Georgia, made the tragic discovery. An employee named Rick recalled to local outlet WSB about the shocking scene.
"All we seen was his head. That's all. We could see his head and his arms," he told the outlet, explaining that a female co-worker first found the man's body. "She came in and was hollering and screaming and telling me, 'Rick! Look, look, look.' "
Meanwhile, a follow-up story from WSB noted the man's legs were "sticking out of the top of the HVAC unit on the restaurant's roof." Reportedly, the vent is above where employees fry up food.
Atlanta Police Department officers responded to a call at the business around 9 a.m. local time. The man was pronounced dead at the scene. Police haven't determined how long the man's body may have been in the vent before he was discovered.
The Fulton County Medical Examiner's Office later identified the man as 37-year-old Terrika Myers, according to PEOPLE. Authorities explained that Myers was wedged inside the vents. While police say there are no signs of foul play, they've launched an investigation into the tragedy.
The Police Investigation Entails Figuring Out How the Victim Gained Access to the Soul Food Restaurant's Roof
Authorities are trying to determine just how Myers managed to gain access to the vent in the first place.
"I don't even know how you can get on the roof," a customer of the soul food restaurant told WSB. Another onlooker wondered what the man's plan was before getting stuck in the vent. "Yeah, that's weird to break in. To do what? There's not even any food made yet," the onlooker speculated.
Meanwhile, WSB reports that a nearby gas station may play a key role in the mystery. Reportedly, the gas station sits near a hill that's nearly level with the soul food restaurant's roof. That may have granted Myer's access to the restaurant's roof and also its heating and air vent.
However, the police themselves haven't released any theories or the possibility of anyone else being involved in the tragic incident.
