THE human remains found in suitcases on the Clifton Suspension Bridge “belong to two adult men”, police said this afternoon.
A man wanted over the case is thought to have travelled from London to Bristol on Wednesday before taking a taxi to the landmark.
LNPHuman remains were found in two suitcases on the Clifton Suspension Bridge[/caption]
Cops are hunting for this manAP
Forensic officers on the bridge yesterdayLNP
The man is alleged to have unloaded the suitcases before leaving the scene just minutes before cops arrived.
Scotland Yard said this afternoon it has taken over the manhunt to find the suspect, who believed to have left Bristol.
A crime scene is also in place in the Shepherd’s Bush area of west London.
Forensic post-mortem examinations are still being carried out but the remains are believed to be those of two adult men.
The men have not been formally identified and cops are working to identify their next of kin.
Just before midnight on Wednesday cops scrambled to reports of a man with a suitcase “acting suspiciously” on the suspension bridge.
Officers arrived at the bridge within 10 minutes but the man had already left – leaving two suitcases behind.
Both suitcases are believed to contain human remains, which cops are working to identify.
Yesterday cops released a snap of a man they want to speak with following the discovery.
The man is described as Black with a beard, and was dressed in head-to-toe black with an Adidas baseball cap, jeans and a jacket.
He wore gold earrings and black trainers with thick white soles, and also had a black backpack.
The Met’s Deputy Assistant Commissioner Andy Valentine said: “Over the last 48 hours we have been working extremely closely with colleagues from Avon and Somerset.
“This work leads us to believe the man we need to speak to travelled to Bristol from London earlier on Wednesday evening.
“We are drawing on resources from across the Met to find and apprehend the suspect.
“I would urge anyone who believes they see him, or who knows of his whereabouts, to call 999 straight away. Do not approach him.
“We recognise this has caused significant concern to residents in the Clifton area and will cause concern among those who live and work in West London.
“Extra officers will be on patrol in the area over the coming days and I would encourage anyone with any concerns to speak to them.”
The Clifton Suspension Bridge opened earlier today after cops finished combing it for evidence.
Witness Giles Malone said he and his wife were waiting for a taxi outside a pub when they saw two men “lifting these suitcases” at the bridge.
Giles, who lives in Florida, USA, said a woman, who appeared to be a passerby, joked with the two men about what was in the bags.
He told LBC: “My wife and I were watching the football game with my dad in Clifton Village and we left my dad’s flat at 10.30pm after the football game.
“We were waiting for an Uber on the corner by the pub and we were stood there waiting for our car.
‘”A man and another man got out of another car across the street and they were lifting these suitcases across the road for some reason, right by us.
“The lady who was helping them said ‘these are the heaviest suitcases I’ve ever lifted. What’s in them? bodies?’.
“We sort of semi-joked about it but they didn’t say anything.”
When he heard the bridge was closed yesterday, he wondered if it was all connected.
“I immediately looked at my wife and said: ‘I wonder if that is a coincidence from last night?’,” he said.
He is now talking to cops about what he saw.
He said the men “didn’t really say anything” but were “just struggling with these cases”.
“I think this lady must have helped them because she made that comment,” he added.
Another eyewitness said he was walking with his girlfriend nearby at the time.
“There were two suitcases, one left on the bridge with what appeared to be blood leaking from it, the other case was on the road just after the bridge on the Leigh Woods side,” he told Bristol Live.
“There was blood on the floor along the bridge. The man who had the cases ran from the bridge staff and I saw him being chased by a member of the public on a bike.
“The cyclist followed the man, who was wearing a dark or black clothing, and was seen running down Burwalls.”
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