Nebraska: Body Found in Chimney a Month After Tenant Reports Hearing Cries for Help
Police in Norfolk, Nebraska, have identified a man whose body was discovered inside an apartment building's chimney. However, they are still uncertain about the circumstances that led to his death. Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

In mid-September, an incident unfolded in Norfolk, Nebraska, where a resident of an apartment unit located at 1414 S. Third St. made a distressing call to the local police, according to Journal Star.

The caller reported hearing pleas for help emanating from somewhere within the building.

A month later, a startling discovery was made by a maintenance employee at the same building - a body was found within a chimney directly beneath the apartment from which the initial call had been placed.

Subsequently, law enforcement authorities investigated the circumstances surrounding this mysterious death.

The deceased Nebraska man was identified Wednesday as 29-year-old Zachariah Andrews of Norfolk.

The Norfolk Police Department stated in a news release that they have maintained consistent communication with Andrews' family since the commencement of the investigation into this perplexing incident.

Various stakeholders, including the building's owner, a tenant, and a Norfolk police captain, have now shed light on the events that transpired in September, the discovery of the deceased, the early stages of the investigation, and the peculiarity of the case.

Tenant Reports Hearing Cries for Help

The local police received a call from a resident in the building on September 16 at 3:17 PM, per Norfolk Daily News.

The tenant reported that he had heard a man urgently calling for assistance, and the sounds seemed to originate from the first floor of the building.

Promptly, two officers responded to the call and contacted the concerned tenant at his apartment.

The resident conveyed that the cries for help had ceased about three to four minutes before the officers' arrival. He was advised to reach out again if he heard the distress calls resuming.

Additionally, responding officers interacted with three other residents, including those residing beneath the apartment of the initial caller.

Regrettably, no other individual reported hearing the cries for help, as confirmed by authorities. Notably, one apartment was found with a blaring television.

Four days after the initial police response a parking warning was placed on a vehicle belonging to Zachariah Andrews.

This vehicle was parked nearby in the 300 block of Northwestern Avenue. Following this, on October 3, a missing-person report was filed for Andrews.

Law enforcement entered his details into the national database of missing persons.

The report indicated that Andrews was last seen on September 15 at approximately 12 PM in the 1200 block of West Norfolk Avenue.

Nebraska Man Discovered

Two tenants, speaking on the condition of anonymity, provided valuable insights into the situation, Daily News noted.

One tenant revealed that the chimney in which the body was ultimately found runs through the center of the apartment building. In response to tenant complaints about a foul odor within the premises, the tenant and the landlord ventured into the basement.

They discovered a disconcerting sight there - blood dripped down the walls near the chimney. They initially assumed that some type of animal, possibly an opossum, had become trapped and perished in the chimney.

The landlord, increasingly concerned about the situation, requested a maintenance worker to conduct a more thorough investigation of the odor on Thursday.

The maintenance employee broke down a wall in the basement, only to make the grim discovery of the deceased person.

The other tenant reported that he had noticed an unpleasant odor a few weeks prior and had observed an abundance of flies swarming within the building.

Over time, the smell appeared to subside, leading him to believe the issue was related to a dead animal. However, the persistent presence of flies prompted the landlord to delve deeper into the source of the problem.

This Nebraska man resides on the building's basement floor, and emergency personnel had to breach one of the walls of his apartment unit to recover the body.

The second tenant raised an intriguing point - access to the roof from inside the building is notably challenging.

This observation has puzzled tenants and investigators about the circumstances surrounding this perplexing case.

The tenant speculated that either someone had taken the time to figure out a way to access the roof or, if someone had gained entry from the outside, they would have needed to bring a ladder, which would presumably still be present on the rooftop - a detail that remains unconfirmed.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Bert Hoover

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