Mystery meat

Facebook allows one’s imagination to run wild. That was certainly the case Monday (Sept. 18) after somebody reported an abandoned refrigerator with a foul stench coming from it on Coutolenc Road in Magalia.

The Butte County Fires, Accidents, Crimes (BCFAC) Facebook page filled with comments from would-be detectives, most of them fearing a dead body inside the fridge. One commenter visited the scene, posting pictures of bones found inside the refrigerator. Eventually, the mystery was solved: The fridge had been offered for sale to anyone wanting the “bear bait” inside. An interested party apparently retrieved the fridge, but allegedly dumped it due to the smell of rotting meat.

According to Megan McMann, spokeswoman for the Butte County Sheriff’s Office, the bones inside the fridge were not human. The case was forwarded to county code enforcement as illegal dumping.