COLUMBUS (WCMH) — Police are investigating after human remains were found in a trash receptacle at a south Columbus trash facility.

Police were called to the area of 1300 South Columbus Airport Road shortly before 4pm Tuesday after someone reported finding two human legs in the trash. Patrol officers responded and confirmed the discovery.

A Columbus police dispatcher wanted to make sure she had heard the caller correctly. “There are two legs in the trash?” she asked. “Two legs, human legs,” the caller replied.

It was the kind of bizarre report more often associated with a murder mystery novel or a TV crime drama. But this was real.

The legs were spotted by an employee of Local Waste Services at the company’s facility off of Lockbourne Rd on the south side of Columbus. Local Waste Services picks up residential and commercial trash and recyclables.

The facility serves as a trash transfer station where trucks come in from the field and dump what they’ve picked up. The material is then transferred to bigger trucks and sent on to its final destination. It was during that transfer process late Tuesday that a worker spotted the two legs – each wrapped in plastic.

Investigators have opened a homicide investigation. They have not revealed the race or gender

Forensic pathologists at the county coroner’s office are trying to identify who the legs belonged to and how they were severed. DNA samples will be compared to the state DNA database in search of a match.

Homicide detectives are checking missing person reports and searching through the trash items that were in the same truckload looking for clues to where exactly the legs were picked up.Keep checking NBC4i.com for real-time updates on this story. To get alerts for breaking news, grab the free NBC4 News App for iPhone or Android. You can also sign up for email alerts.