Police respond to the discovery of a barrel containing human remains in San Diego Bay on Oct. 12, 2017. (Credit: KSWB)

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A decomposed body was found stuffed inside a sealed barrel chained to a block in the San Diego Bay Thursday, police said.

A man was cleaning his boat around 12:30 p.m. when he saw the drum floating in the water about 200 feet from shore in South San Diego Bay, Chula Vista police said. The barrel was chained to a cinder block, KTLA sister station KSWB reported.

Harbor police and Chula Vista police towed the barrel to the Chula Vista Marina.

An unusual odor was coming from the barrel, police said. When it was opened, human remains were found inside.

The age and gender of the person was unknown, Chula Vista police Capt. Eric Thunberg said.

Police said they inititally received a report of a floating barrel in the same area around 10:30 a.m., but weren't able to find it or contact the person who initially reported it.

San Diego County Medical Examiner loaded the barrel into a truck around 5 p.m. The medical examiner's office will determine the cause of death and aid in identifying the person.

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