A strange call to Detroit police claiming a man-eating pig is living in a neighborhood basement turned out only half-true.
When police arrived they spotted no sign of human remains - but did find a 500 pound pig."This is weird, this is just strange," said neighbor Kathy Hollis.
What Detroit police thought would be a simple save of an abandoned swine, turned into quite the predicament Friday afternoon.
"Thirty years, I've never seen a 500-pound pig in a basement," said Steve Dolunt, assistant police chief. "That couldn't get out."
Police were called to a west side home on Orangelawn to pull this porker, trapped in a basement. with no stairs and only a ladder.
"No pun intended, it looks like a pig sty," Dolunt said. "There's two feet of pig feces down there."
This, after the pig's owner 61-year-old Gary Roquemore died of natural causes in his other home, across the street..
"Apparently he's been dead for three days and neighbors have been feeding the pig," Dolunt said. "There's a stench emanating from all three homes."
Detroit police were already planning to come rescue the pig, but a different call forced them to secure the area with HAZMAT crews and cadaver dogs.
Police say an anonymous caller stated that the owner killed multiple women in the area who had visited him. Then fed their remains to his hog.
Capt. Constance Slappey said there was no evidence of a crime.
Roquemore was a pastor and politician, previously seen on FOX 2, when he ran for Wayne County commissioner and later - when neighbors complained of his extreme hoarding.
"We knew he was a hoarder, this is just mind boggling," Hollis said. "I knew he was eccentric, he was a nice person."
Police built a ramp and called in animal control to remove the hefty hog and find it a new home. Officers are happy that it was all that was found.
Attempts to remove the pig have not been easy. Officers first tried Chips' Ahoy cookies and Hostess cupcakes. A truck winch was brought in not long after.
At about 8 p.m. the pig was pulled out of the basement, although it was not captured on camera as SkyFOX was refueling.