The discovery of human remains on an urban riverbank and on a remote beach in the Pacific coast have alarmed residents of two communities in Costa Rica. As reported by Alexander Mendez, Allan Chacon and Jorge Sancho for daily tabloid Diario Extra, the body of a male was found on an urban section of the Virilla River and a human torso was unearthed by high tide on a Nicoya beach earlier this week.

The gruesome discovery of what appears to be a torso took place in Playa Buena Vista, an idyllic beach located in the Gulf of Nicoya. Conservation volunteers who protect and monitor nesting sea turtles found the human remains, and they believe the body was buried in the sandy beach.

Roy Arias, a conservation volunteer who was in the group that discovered the detached trunk, explained that he noticed the tissue was dry and brittle, almost to the point of mummification. He believes that the remains did not float in the ocean, a situation that would have prompted marine life to nibble on the tissue until fully consumed. Forensic agents from the Office of Judicial Investigations (Spanish initials: OIJ) collected the remains and are conducting DNA testing for the purpose of identification.

In Tibas, a municipality in the  northern sector of the capital city of Costa Rica, a young man found the dead body of a 40-year old male on the banks of the Virilla River. Raudy Quiros was hanging clothes out to dry before heading for work when he noticed the deceased man lodged between two rocks.

Investigators are reviewing a missing persons report that seems to be related to the finding in the river. Days ago, a forlorn man whose luck had run out years ago called his loved ones to bid them goodbye as he had planned to jump from the Saprissa Bridge, located not far from Ricardo Saprissa Stadium in Tibas. After the gloomy phone call, Red Cross rescue squads rushed to the bridge; alas, they believe they were too late. OIJ forensic agents are now involved in identifying the body.