Crime & Safety

New Jersey Water Plant Workers Find Discarded Fetus

Plant workers at a pumping station in North Jersey made a grisly discovery while screening waste water, authorities say.

Plant workers at a water pumping station in North Jersey made a grisly discovery on Tuesday when they found a lifeless fetus, authorities say.

Workers screening the waste water at a SUEZ pumping station on Oak Street in Bayonne found the fetus and immediately called police, ABC New York reported.

A Suez spokesperson said that the fetus was found during "routine work" while checking to make sure solid waste didn’t clog the pumps used to send water out for treatment, NJ.com reported.

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The state Medical Examiner’s Office removed the fetus from the facility, authorities told the Hudson County View.

Based on a preliminary investigation, it appears there was no live birth, a Bayonne police spokesperson told NJ.com.

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The Bayonne Police Detective Bureau asked anyone with information about the fetus to call 201-858-6952 or contact the department’s tip line at 1-877-900-8477.

The station pumps waste water out of the city to another contractor that treats it, ABC New York stated.

Suez’s website states:

“As part of the Bayonne Water Joint Venture, United Water [Suez] has partnered with the Bayonne Municipal Utilities Authority to operate and maintain Bayonne’s water system. Through the partnership, the BMUA retains ownership of the water infrastructure assets and sets rates. United Water, as contract operator, provides the day to day management of the water system.”

Sadly, Tuesday’s incident isn’t the only recent case of a fetus being discovered at a North Jersey waste water treatment facility. In March, a fetus was found at a Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission facility in Newark.

A spokesperson for the Essex County Prosecutor's Office said workers allegedly discovered the fetus in a sewer intake screen.

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