Body found in Pearl Brewery smokestack

Police found the body of a man believed to be a construction worker whose family said he’d been missing for several days at the bottom of this smokestack at the old Pearl Brewery. Police found the body of a man believed to be a construction worker whose family said he’d been missing for several days at the bottom of this smokestack at the old Pearl Brewery. Photo: Eva Ruth Moravec, San Antonio Express-News Photo: Eva Ruth Moravec, San Antonio Express-News Image 1 of / 8 Caption Close Body found in Pearl Brewery smokestack 1 / 8 Back to Gallery

A man believed to be a construction worker whose family told police he'd been missing for days was found dead at the bottom of a smokestack Tuesday at the Pearl Brewery.

Workers detected a foul odor and called police to the 300 block of Pearl Parkway just before 1 p.m.

Inside the brewery's iconic smokestack, police found the body of a man who apparently had been dead for some time, police Sgt. Javier Salazar said.

“There's no telling how long he was in there,” Salazar said. “Apparently the family hadn't seen the guy for several days.”

Officials said the man's death probably was an accident. An autopsy is pending.

Police believe he had been working on a construction project in a building adjacent to the smokestack, which bears the words “PRIDE” and “PEARL” in large white letters.

He apparently was inside a covered walkway that connects to the smokestack when he fell to the bottom from a height of about 20 feet, Salazar said.

The walkway links the smokestack to the old Boiler House, which is being renovated for the Boiler House Texas Grill & Wine Garden, set to open later this year.

According to the restaurant's website, the 115-year-old structure previously housed the brewery's boilers and is nestled between the Culinary Institute of America and the former Brew House.

A sister restaurant to MAX's Wine Dive in the Quarry Village, The Boiler House is owned and operated by Lasco Enterprises, published reports state.

A spokesperson for Lasco was not immediately available for comment.

When asked whether anyone knew the man had been missing, Pearl spokeswoman Elizabeth Fauerso said “no one had been alerted at the level of ownership of the project.”

“Today was the first time that we knew that he was missing,” she said.

More Information Broadway changes take area in a new direction

Silver Ventures purchased the defunct Pearl Brewery in 2001 and tenants started moving in five years later. Since then, the 22-acre campus has been morphed into a mix of retail, office and residential space.

Projects under construction and set for completion later this year will add about 300 residential units and several thousand square feet of retail and office space.

emoravec@express-news.net

Twitter: @EvaRuth

Staff Writer Valentino Lucio contributed to this report.