Scarborough police are investigating a dead body found in a recycling truck Friday after the driver unloaded its haul at a waste company in town.

Police Chief Mark Holmquist said the remains were discovered by a driver for a Troiano Waste Systems truck when he dumped the load of used cardboard at  the Casella Waste Systems transfer facility on Gibson Road about 9:15 a.m.

The body was apparently picked up along the truck’s route collecting used cardboard from businesses in Portland and South Portland overnight and this morning, but it’s not clear yet how it made its way into the truck or where it was picked up along the route.

“Any time we have a body that’s found under these circumstances, it’s always safe to consider it suspicious until it’s proven otherwise,” Holmquist. “That’s why we’ve notified the state police to give us a hand with the investigation.”

The dead man is local to Portland and had identification on him, but his name is being withheld pending notification of his next of kin.

This story will be updated.

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