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What should I do if I find a bag by the road that I'm concerned it's a dead body? (lemmy.ml)

submitted 2 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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So I was walking and found this garbage bag that had flys on it and it was tied up. I kicked at it a bit and it did feel like something limp was in there like it was dead. Tried to untie it as well so might have my fingerprints on it. But yeah a car came up and was yeah someone actually concerned for me and he's like I'm going to pray for you man. So that right there just got me to stop looking any further at the bag. But I'm still kinda of interested if I should've said something right then and there. My phone was almost dead anyway. But yeah I was thinking maybe I might find a dead body maybe a part of a dead body. I didn't look any further but it was out of place I felt. Should I report such finds?

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[–] [email protected] 23 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I think 911 (or whatever the number is where you live) would be fine. But the argument could be made that the emergency number should reserved for active emergencies, in OPs case the victim is already potentially dead.

[–] ricecake 10 points 2 months ago

So, you're correct that active emergencies take priority.

That being said, in essentially every place that has 911, both numbers connect to the same place and the only real difference is pick-up order and default response.
It's the emergency number not simply because it's only for emergencies but because it's the number that's the same everywhere that you need to know in the event of an emergency.

It should be used in any situation where it should be dealt with by someone now, and that someone isn't you. Finding a serious crime has occurred is an emergency, even if the perpetrator is gone and the situation is stable.
A dead person, particularly a potential murder, generally needs to be handled quickly.

It's also usually better to err on the side of 911, just in case it is an emergency that really needs the fancy features 911 often gives, like location lookups.