The YouTuber, identified as Matthew Nunez, made the discovery at around 6.45 p.m. on August 10. He was making a film inside the multi-use building in Milwaukee, according to Fox 6. He called the police after finding the body on the second floor.
Officers entered via the roof of the long abandoned building which once housed a church located near MLK Drive and Burleigh Street.
They found the deceased in what appeared to be a bedroom. The body’s head, feet and left hand were skeletonized.
Amy Michalak, the chief forensic investigator at the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office [MEO], said that the dead person appeared to be a black male who had nothing in his pockets.
Officers are hoping that details about jewelry he was wearing and the tattoos that he had might offer some leads as to who he and his family are.
Five rings were found on the body, including a yellow one with a dark blue stone. The deceased also had tattoos, with one on the left forearm which said “King” and one of the right forearm which said “Sava.” Other tattoo designs were hard to make out. A red allergy bracelet, commonly used in hospitals, was also found on the body.
The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office released a description of the body and the rings on Twitter as it sought help with identification.
The person died wearing a large winter coat and athletic pants and the right hand was covered with a black glove.
Investigators said there were no signs of injuries or drugs. They are going through missing person reports to see if there are matches. They also hope that the tattoos could lead to his identification. “We would like to be able to provide some type of closure for that family,” Michalak told WTMJ Milwaukee, “we have found their loved one.”
“We know there are a lot of people out there missing, but this one person we found,” she added.
Meanwhile, local resident Dellareese Williams told Fox 6 that the building had been empty for more than a decade and a half.
“To find out if that someone was deceased in there and missing from their family for God knows how long, that’s really the heartbreaking part,” she told the outlet. “Someone’s family now can possibly get closure, also they can begin to grieve.”
Newsweek has contacted Milwaukee Police Department for further information.