Police are appealing for any information that could help identify a dismembered body part found in a Salford nature reserve on Thursday afternoon.
In a “disturbing incident”, a human torso wrapped in plastic was found by passersby at Kersal Wetlands, where police are still searching.
Through initial forensic and DNA testing, police believe the victim is a man who is likely to be aged older than 40 and who has only been dead for a matter of days.
On Saturday night, police arrested a 20-year-old man from the local area on suspicion of murder. He remains in custody and will be questioned by detectives.
Search dogs and underwater teams have been deployed at the wetlands and will be “combing through every inch” of the site, though police said they have not yet found anything else of interest at the scene.
Greater Manchester police (GMP) said their main focus was “establishing who our victim is and at the heart of our investigation is a family somewhere, who will soon suffer the loss of their loved one – and this remains in our thoughts”.
In a press conference on Sunday afternoon, Ch Supt Tony Creely of GMP’s Salford district said: “The arrest we made yesterday evening is an important step for our investigation, but we must keep an open mind and a big part of this is speaking to anyone who may have crucial information.
“As we continue to work in the area, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the public for their concern and cooperation so far, and we are mindful this is a disturbing incident for the local community, but I can assure you that since we were made aware, we’ve been pursuing every single line of inquiry to help us find out what has happened.
“I cannot stress the importance of people contacting us with information if they know anything at all. You may have information that you don’t feel is of importance, but it could be to us. Please pass it on. It could be the key piece of information we need to progress this investigation.”
