A “foul odor” led investigators to human remains in a hard-to-reach “shed” built under a bridge above a flood control channel, California fire officials said.

Crews with Los Angeles Fire and the Los Angeles Police Department found the remains in a space under a bridge in the Ballona Creek flood control channel, according to a Sept. 2 news release from the Los Angeles Fire Department.

When crews got to the scene, they noticed an odor that eventually led them to a “livable structure” built within the bottom of the bridge, police told KTLA.

The “shed” was 20 feet above 10-to-15 feet of “slow moving tidal water” and 50 feet away from the shore, according to a post by the Los Angeles Fire Department on Twitter, now rebranded as X.

Police told KTLA that swift-water rescue personnel spent over seven hours trying to reach the body.

Teams used ropes and harnesses to get to the space after “hooking into the bridge infrastructure,” Los Angeles Fire Department spokesperson, Brian Humphrey, told the Los Angeles Times.

Officials believe the remains belong to a 40-year-old male, the release said.

The body has yet to be removed from the difficult-to-access space, KTLA reported.

McClatchy News reached out to police and fire officials for more information on Sept. 3 and is awaiting a response.

The Medical Examiner’s Office will determine the time and manner of death, officials said.

The bridge was closed to all traffic on Sept. 2 as police and the Medical Examiner’s Office completed their investigation, the release said.

No update was available as of the morning of Sept. 3.

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