Cadaver dog helps uncover human remains on Indy’s east side, authorities investigating

The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department is investigating after a cadaver dog alerted to “remains believed to be human” on Indianapolis’ east side, a department spokesperson confirmed.

About 10:20 a.m. April 30, Southeast District officers were called to the intersection of Lexington Avenue and South Irvington Avenue after receiving a report that a body had been found. Police arrived with a cadaver dog, which alerted to the presence of remains.

Homicide detectives responded to the scene, but it’s not yet known if foul play is suspected. The remains were recovered from an area of private property that’s not visible from the road, according to police. A representative for CSX, which operates the nearby Hawthorne Rail Yard, told IndyStar that the company had not been contacted about the discovery.

The Marion County Coroner’s Office will investigate the death if it confirms the remains are human. A representative for the coroner’s office was unable to release any information at the time of publication.

Several people have vanished from the same area of Indianapolis in recent memory.

On July 9, 2024, the body of missing 36-year-old mom Tara Capps was found in a storage tote near the intersection of South Keystone Avenue and East Pleasant Run Parkway South Drive, less than 3 miles away from the site of the April 30 discovery. She had been shot to death, and her case remains unsolved.

Dusty Milburn, also 36, was last seen on Oct. 25, 2024 near South State Avenue and Prospect Street, within a mile of the location where Capps was found. He is still missing.

Jessica Masker was 24 when she disappeared. She was last seen in the area of South Emerson Avenue and East Washington Street on April 15, 2013.

This article will update.

Ryan Murphy is the communities reporter for IndyStar. She can be reached at rhmurphy@indystar.com.