Body Parts in Canals: Investigators Exploring Links Between Broward and Miami-Dade Cases

Not pictured: body parts.

​The techniques may be straight out of Dexter, but there's nothing fictional about a number of recent discoveries of severed or chopped-up body parts in South Florida's murky waterways.

On November 6, a melange of chopped-up body parts cast in cement in a bucket was discovered behind the Egg N You Diner on North Federal Highway in Fort Lauderdale. A pair of glasses and a size 10 New Balance sneaker were found on the scene, and investigators said the remains belonged to a white male between five feet eight and six feet tall.

Last Tuesday, BSO DNA analysis revealed that those remains were linked to a severed head that was found in a Dania Beach canal.

If that's not creepy enough,
a new discovery in Miami-Dade County could be the work of the same person -- or a copycat. On Friday afternoon, fisherman there found human remains floating in a plastic container in a canal at NW 183rd Street and 73rd Avenue.

"We were able to confirm through the Medical Examiner's Office that the victim was a male, although there's no confirmation yet of race or approximate age," says Miami-Dade Police spokesman Alvaro Zabaleta.

"We know that remains were found in Broward County," says Zabaleta. In similar cases like this, "Investigators always have open lines of communications" between departments, he says.

For its part, the Fort Lauderdale Police Department has gotten all it can from DNA information and is waiting for someone to identify the victim. "The investigation is still ongoing," says spokesman Travis Mandell. "We're hoping the public will come forward."

It's up to the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner's Office to find a DNA link between the two bodies, if there is one. We have calls out to the medical examiner requesting more information.