Pathologists: Leg found at beach was cut off in surgery

Pathologists believe a man's leg found near the Feather River was removed during a medical procedure while the man was alive, Sutter County Sheriff J. Paul Parker said Tuesday.

On Sunday, paintballers found the left leg, severed below the hip, in a green plastic bag near Beer Can Beach west of Nicolaus.

Two forensic pathologists agreed that the way the bone was cut, muscles retracted and veins tied off indicated surgery, said Parker.

A contractor hired by a hospital to dispose of medical waste may have discarded the leg or it may have been stolen, he said.

A search of the Feather River and nearby area for a body or other body parts has been discontinued, Parker said.

Parker said he hopes the patient will come forward with information on where the leg was amputated.

The leg apparently was removed because of atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries. The patient was not elderly but was older than a teenager, he said.

The leg "was in very good shape" when found, with no insect or animal damage, even though the plastic bag was not sealed, Parker said.

Rideout Memorial Hospital in Marysville reported doing no recent amputations of that type. The search is widening to include other area hospitals, he said.

Since hospitals sometimes freeze amputated limbs, the surgery could have taken place as long as six months ago, Parker said.

Most hospitals contract with private providers to dispose of limbs, he said.

"It's usually not the hospital itself," Parker said.

Meanwhile, the search continues for a missing person from Sacramento County whose truck was found about two miles west of where the limb was found. Authorities thought earlier the cases might be connected.

A reclamation district worker reported seeing a man, possibly the missing person, paddling a kayak north in the Sutter Bypass toward Highway 113, Parker said.