JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office investigated for more than 12 hours after the remains of two human feet were found in the backyard of a home in the Magnolia Gardens neighborhood of Northwest Jacksonville.
Police were called to a home on Sunny Acres Drive when people working on the home noticed what looked like feet sticking out of the ground on Wednesday night but police stayed at the residence to maintain potential evidence for the investigation on Thursday.
JSO has not identified the victim in this case but nearly half a dozen crime scene vans and multiple vehicles from the medical examiner’s office were on scene during the course of the investigation.
The family of Sabeion Dowell showed up at the scene in hopes that the remains were his. Dowell’s sister Tashae Campbell said that her brother has been missing since Feb. 15 and that she and other family members show up at crime scenes involving unidentified bodies in hopes that the body will be that of Dowell’s so the family can have closure in his disappearance.
JSO did not identify the victim during the course of the investigation and Dowell’s family said that JSO did not call them regarding the body that was found on Sunny Acres Drive. If Sabeion Dowell is deceased, the 23 year old leaves behind three children.
At one point during JSO’s investigation Thursday afternoon multiple members of Dowell’s family walked past police tape with the intent of going up to JSO to demand answers about the investigation. When they returned they were told that JSO could not identify the victim at this time.
The JSO incident report says the call that reported the remains were found was placed at 6:48 p.m.
A news release sent to First Coast News Thursday afternoon states that the remains were found at a home in the 5600 block of Sunny Acres Drive. Two feet were observed "sticking up out of the ground" when an officer responded to the home, the report says, as no other additional information was provided in the report.
"Due to the time of day, JSO maintained security of the residence throughout the night," the sheriff's office said in the release. "Currently, JSO officers and detectives are on scene while the remains are being extricated. This incident will be classified as pending until the Medical Examiner’s Office can complete their investigation to determine the manner of death."