Suitcases with human remains found on bridge in southwest England

Police are searching for an unidentified man after two suitcases with human remains were found on a bridge in Bristol in southwest England, officials say. It’s the second high-profile manhunt in the UK in just two days.

The latest incident happened at around 11:57 p.m. on Wednesday when police received a report of a man with a suitcase acting suspiciously on the Clifton Suspension Bridge, which spans the Avon Gorge and the River Avon, in Bristol.

“Officers arrived at the bridge within 10 minutes, but the man had already left the area, leaving the suitcase behind,” Avon and Somerset Police said in a statement on Thursday. “A second suitcase was located nearby a short time later.”

“Sadly, it’s believed the suitcases contain human remains,” police added.

The Major Crime Investigation Team has launched an investigation and is working to identify both the victim and the suspect, who arrived at the bridge in a taxi, police said. A photo of the suspect (shown below) has been released and anyone who recognizes him is asked to call 999 immediately.

“This is a very disturbing incident and I fully recognise the concern it will be causing our communities,” Acting Bristol Commander Vicks Hayward-Melen said. “Our immediate priority is to locate the man who took the suitcases to the bridge, identify the deceased, and inform their next of kin.”

The incident comes just a day after a nearly day-long manhunt for the man who killed BBC commentator John Hunt’s wife and two daughters with a crossbow at their home near London. The suspected killer was caught at a cemetery and remains hospitalized.