Authorities confirmed a human rib found last December belongs to Texas A&M student Caleb Harris, whose remains surfaced in a wastewater well months earlier. The Corpus Christi Police Department (CCPD) announced the update late last week, shedding new light on the 21-year-old's mysterious death.
Videos by Wide Open Country
A city employee at the Greenwood Water Recycling Plant discovered the bone Dec. 2, 2024, in a drying bed. "This is the same facility where the Perry Place lift station contents were sent in June 2024 after we found Caleb Harris's remains," police said. Subcontractors spotted the rib, and a CCPD officer transported it to the Nueces County Medical Examiner's Office. The office verified it as Harris's in an amendment released Friday, obtained by PEOPLE.
Questions linger about the delay. A CCPD spokesperson told the Caller-Times the rib might have been missed among remains recovered in June, when Harris's body was first located. Decomposition had already advanced, complicating the initial findings.
Police pieced together Harris's final hours. On March 3, he hung out with roommates and a friend at his off-campus apartment on the 1900 block of Ennis Joslin Road. At 2:44 a.m. on March 4, he sent his sister a Snapchat video of him walking a puppy in the complex's parking lot. Minutes later, he shared a photo of a nearby bridge with another friend. Then, he vanished.
Authorities Baffled
How Harris ended up in the sewer system remains a puzzle. Deputy Chief Billy Breedlove told PEOPLE in July that foul play was possible -- someone could have harmed him and dumped his body—but no evidence supports it. An accidental fall into a manhole also fits the timeline. The July autopsy revealed "advanced decomposition and skeletonization," obscuring potential injuries. Toxicology tests returned negative, and no significant trauma emerged.
The medical examiner labeled the cause and manner of death "undetermined." "The condition of the remains could hide subtle injuries or disease," the report noted. Authorities left the door open for updates if new details surface.
For now, Harris's family and investigators grapple with an unresolved tragedy, haunted by more questions than answers.
