On Monday June 27, 2016 at approximately 12:30 am, the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office was advised that employees at the Apache Generating Station near Cochise, Arizona, had discovered human remains in one of three coal rotary plows that are part of the coal elevating and delivery system. On Thursday December 15, 2016 the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office reported that the body parts have been identified as those of 21 year old Devon Lee Ward of California.
Ward was a private in the military stationed at Fort Bliss Texas and he was listed as being absent without leave in early June 2016.
Ward’s body was discovered when workers noticed the rotary plow was malfunctioning.
It appears that Ward’s body may have been in a coal train car prior to the coal being dumped into the coal chute at the power plant.
The Pima County Medical Examiners’ Office was able to get a fingerprint match from the body that was ultimately confirmed as Ward.
The investigation is being continued by the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office.