NEW IBERIA, La. (KLFY) — A New Iberia man says the wooded area where investigators found human remains is a popular dumping spot.
Police discovered the remains in a wooded area on Cherokee Street last week.
Officials say the human remains could be connected to the disappearance of a young woman, who went missing in October.
As their investigation continues, residents in the area say they’re horrified the remains were there, right under their noses.
One man says he even reported a foul smell to police months ago, right after 20-year-old Deja Cummings went missing.
“I say it’s a smell I’ve never smelled before. It’s not an animal smell. It’s a strange smell. He [the officer] said, ‘Okay, we going to tend to it. We’re going to send somebody in there to see about it.’ They never did it. They never sent anyone in there because look what they found. If they would have sent somebody, they would have found it a long time ago,” Christopher Carter, who lives nearby, told News Ten.
“I smelled that smell for a week and a half. That was the week and a half in the beginning part of November, so months ago when she first came up missing,” he added.
Carter says the property where the human remains were found is unkempt. He’s been asking for the mayor and property owner to clean up. His concerns grew when he says the property was set on fire last week.
Kermit Dixon, who lives nearby, says the property is known for being a dumping ground.
“From four-wheelers to stolen cars,” Dixon said. “I’ve also seen people that are homeless in that area as well that live there. I’ve seen them out on the lawn over there just sunning out on some days and everything. It makes me concerned about what’s going on in that area that’s hidden that people in the public don’t see.”
With reports of strange activity happening behind these trees and now human remains being found, Dixon also agrees that the property owner needs to do something about the land.
“That was pretty alarming, right here, under our noses. We don’t know what’s going on in our own inhabitance that we reside in. That close, that’s scary,” he told News Ten.
He says the area is in the middle of a neighborhood, with a school only a block away, and something must be done.
“You know, we have alarming things that are happening in our area, and it’s including the properties that are in our area that’s not developed yet that need to be cleared and everything, that’s being a safe harbor for crime activity,” Dixon said.
Though investigators have not confirmed the identify of the remains, a relative of Deja Cummings tells News Ten they do believe these are her remains.
