Officials: Body found in farming equipment at Westside Farms in Shafter

SHAFTER, Calif. — A body was found in a piece of farming equipment at Westside Farms in Shafter Wednesday morning.

Shafter Police Department responded to reports from a Westside Farms employee around 9 a.m. Officials say the employee said there was something suspicious inside a silo.

The Kern County coroners responded to the scene and confirmed it was a dead body.

"Our investigative team came out after one of my officers and conferred with the coroners office and confirmed that there was indeed a body inside this piece of equipment that is called an auger," Shafter Police Chief, Chief Kevin Zimmermann told 23ABC. "An auger is basically a 20 ft tall 10 ft wide equipment that comes to a point at the bottom and distributes gypsum in this case."

The gender of the body is unknown at this time.

Shafter police also say they do not know if foul play was involved. The investigation is still ongoing.