Body Found in Yuma Ice Plant

[Arroyos]

Body Found in Yuma Ice Plant

December 17, 2033: Yuma, AZ—The body of an unidentified male was discovered buried in ice at the Yuma Water Refinery early this morning. Yuma County Sheriff Leon X. Wilmar is leading the investigation. “I can only confirm that a body was found this morning, frozen in ice. It appears to be a male Caucasian, middle-aged, roughly 5’11” to 6 feet tall.”

When asked if the body could belong to missing ice magnet Charles Dole IV, the Sheriff would only say, “ We won’t be making any identification until we defrost the body.”

At 8 a.m. the Water Refinery Head of Security, R.J. Sandsman, was making his usual rounds before the plant opened when he heard what he described as a “strange grinding sound, like a car engine that won’t start,” coming from the ice cube cutting machine. He found the machine had gotten stuck somehow and wasn’t producing any ice cubes. “Usually,” he explained, “we let the cube cutter run overnight so we have a ton or so of ice before the baggers arrive in the morning.” After shutting the machine down, Sandsman opened the bin and found a huge block of ice stuck on the conveyer belt. “It was much too big to move down the belt into the cutter,” he explained. When Sandsman tried to remove the ice, he noticed a body frozen within. “Scared the livin’ spit outa me, that’s what it did!”

Sandsman contacted the Yuma police who, along with the Sheriff’s Department, have taken control of the Refinery ice-making building. The other sections of the Water Refinery, including the purification plant, are operating on a reduced load for the time being.

The Yuma Medical Examiner, Dr. Borus Mikheilovich, has begun the defrosting procedure. “We take it slow,” he explained, “so as not to damage the flesh.” He expected to be able to conduct the usual post mortem upon the body sometime later today.

Meanwhile, police are still searching for the missing Crystal Lake ice magnet, Charles Dole IV.