Jan. 31--The body parts found stuffed in a suitcase in downtown San Francisco this week were those of an "unidentified light-skinned male," the San Francisco office of the chief medical examiner said Friday.
The announcement came as police released grainy surveillance-camera images of a person of interest in the case. That person is described by the San Francisco Police Department as a white man in his 50s or 60s, and about 5-foot-7 or 5-foot-8. He is possibly a transient, authorities said.
In the photographs, he is wearing a pinstriped baseball hat, a blue and orange jacket and light blue jeans.
On Wednesday, police found the dismembered body parts in a suitcase on 11th Street between Market and Mission streets, outside a Goodwill store. As investigators searched the city's South of Market neighborhood, they found more body parts nearby in a trash can, police said.
"There was one crime scene -- it was just very large," Officer Grace Gatpandan told The Times.
When the remains were first found in the suitcase, authorities were unsure whether they belonged to an animal or human, police said. The county medical examiner determined they were human remains.
The medical examiner's office is still working to identify the dead man and determine the manner of death. The state Bureau of Forensic Services' DNA laboratory will be needed to identify him, according to the medical examiner.
Anyone with information on the case is asked to call the San Francisco Police Department's anonymous tipline at 415-575-4444.
